The Red Boarding School of Dread
by StarryEyedRin
Summary: One ground breaking rule in Cryptonaria is this: Don't go inside the "Dusty Devil." Far long ago, people who have gone in their have come out insane, or don't return at all. Everyone refuses to step foot in there, and even tom girl Rin Kagamine won't- but after Miku's hospital visit, Rin finds the need to step inside. (Miku x Rin x Gumi, Warnings inside)
1. PROLOUGE: The Willpower

_Title: The Red Boarding School of Dread _

_Summary: ____One ground breaking rule in Cryptonaria is this: Don't go inside the "Dusty Devil." Far long ago, people who have gone in their have come out insane, or don't return at all. Everyone refuses to step foot in there, and even to____mgirl ____Rin Kagamine won't- but after Miku's hospital visit, Rin finds the need to step inside._

**___WARNING: Contains Yuri, violence, insanity, Drug References (that are not real drugs or not mentioned), and dark themes. _**

**_In addition:_**

_**VOCALOID DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. STORY AND ART IS ALL BY ME~ THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!**  
_

_**In another addition:**_

**_If you wish to see the old full version of the artwork, you can go on my profile, where my deviant art cover collection is linked. It should be the one titled: "Random Cover Yaaay." All I ask is that you refrain from redistributing without consult. (Reposting on the web without permission is a big nono for me. )_**

_Author's Note:_

**_(Bold = Important)_**

_Hello, and Welcome to The Red Boarding School of Dread. Summer is almost abroad, and I have been working on this for a total of 5-6 months. **My goals are to entertain, express and make an interesting story with a complex storyline and do it correctly. **I will try my best to make things seem reasonable, and I hope you will enjoy this._

**_If you like this story or want to improve it, drop a criticism or a simple review telling me how you_**_** feel.** I look forward to learning more about writing, and enhancing my skills. **I ask that you give me the good, the bad, and the ugly, what needs to be improved, and what I've done right. **I think as a writer, it's important that one expresses themselves and gets the right criticism needed to improve._

_**This story contains Violence**,** Drug References, Insanity, Yuri, and Character Deaths. ****Everyone will share some sort of dark side, including the main characters. **Their dark sides will be brought out in certain spots of the story, and are chosen specifically to both entertain and give a spring into the horror mechanic this story derives from. (In other words, this is partially a horror story. )**  
**_

**_This story will be split up into parts. _**_Each character displays a different part. **There is so far to be confirmed a Rin's Part, Miku's Part, and an unknown third part, which has yet to actually be made. **I am currently writing Miku's part._

**_Please Note: _**_I understand the prologue is short. However, this is not the length of each chapter.** Each chapter is usually 2000-4000 words. No chapter will be less than 1000 words.**_

_Anyway, please enjoy this story. :) I've worked super hard on it~_

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**Prologue:** The Willpower

_It's hopeless..._

Shrieks filled the room on a cold short based notice, but one of them was hers. The girl who found herself fighting all her evils, was fighting against the evil that was done to her and found herself trapped in a cage full of cheats and lies. The girl who fought so much for her struggles, could no longer piece the way out of a broken word of havoc and destruction.

_When will I ever get out?_

She was starved towards the brink of death by her own best friend, and her words touched not even the most remote heart, but a solid place of steel. Her eyes drew close, not to the girl, but what the girl was holding in her hands. Her heart thumped over and over again, at the sight of what was about to be visions of her blood spewing out of her skin, a surgeon's knife cutting wounds into her stomach, until she could barely mutter up the words to stop such an abrupt attack. Would it be the end of her? Would she die for no reason, other to satisfy a sickening person's fate? Or was she merely being recreated upon her own whim, to be followed upon by a sickening device, until the words were plunged straight out of her?

_I'm not getting out, am I?_

Step, step. The girl who found the plug, who dwells deep into the insanity of the mind, softly reached through the bars to caress a sounding face, humming ruthlessly and positioning her jaw to look at her. She smirked, drawing a line between fantasy and reality, and slowly upon the cage and jutted her out. Barefoot, cold, and miserable; she reluctantly followed like an animal in bondage, until she sat in her chair and payed mindless attention to the words that were being emitted from the girl's mouth.

"You, and me... we're meant to be. You will become one of us now, _whether you like it or not!"_

The smell of blood tickled her nose, and the pain made her slow to a crawl, and then she realized, that without hesitation, that maybe she would die here after all.


	2. CH 1: Adolescence

**Part 1: **Rin's Side

_Red, Pink and Gold _

**Chapter One:** Adolescence

With a delightful smile on her face, Rin dipped the spoon into her frozen yogurt, and chomped down on it. Her smile was rather deceiving, despite the day being an average, boring old tuesday, and yes- in case one wonders- it was the oh so _glorious_ day of testing. Most people would rather scream and run around playing games with the teacher, kick back the chairs, slam the doors, and occasionally breaking windows over petty little fights that seemed to stir up controversy. But Rin? Well, Rin had a reason to be happy... but who would be so happy on such a day?

It didn't matter to her, that most of her classmates were frustrated with algebra. Nor did it matter that her classmates were mostly diligent students with a wrap of bad attitude. Because, with Gumi on her side: It made her world brighter, and much better. Gumi... dare she say it... helped her cheat all her algebra quizzes. Every single piece of paper, all copied- but wait! That's not the best part. Gumi... had a nature, a responsibility that lied from the craters of a hidden beast: she was the Dean's daughter. You'd think that'd make her snoopy, low-cut, snobbish, remarkably smart but careless. That might be true. But Gumi- is a gem. A sweet gem. A gem that, without hesitation, will help her get by the math class of the year. So therefor, his daughter, although raised to be hardworking and kind hearted- found herself helping her friends cheat on quizzes they could not handle.

You'd think someone like Rin wouldn't know these things, but no. Rin knew everything she had gotten from Gumi, and Gumi knew a lot about the school. Rin herself, learned everything from Gumi and Miku... two girls who loved her so. From how you should dress, to how to successfully cheat, to even _"how to get a catchy tune out of your head and infect someone else with it's poison."_ Being so very busy, a trait of her kin, it was amazing Gumi had time for all of her friends, none the less: her.

Rin however, hated the idea of being a slave to school, and being locked up in a little itty-bitty room all day with only work ahead of her. It was like the pioneer ages, only ten times more faulty and deadly. Well, then again... maybe she was being a little more melodramatic then usual. Oh well, can't have everything.

She threw the yogurt cup in the trash.

A sudden thought came to her. Why couldn't she get a boyfriend already? The idea was so tempting... she wanted a love letter- someone oh someone to confess to her! But... she was the youngest in her group... and the guys were so few in her school, that all of them were taken! Very few guys attended Red Valley, just as very few girls did PE class in a class full of guys. But, the out of norm was her... a girl who was trapped in a PE class full of guys, who would without hesitation kick butt. The out of norm, was the girl who succeeded at almost every sport, including football, and other male-dominated sports. Maybe that's why she never got taken seriously...

Well, the best part of PE class, _was_ overcoming Len's super idiocy. With a wave of victory, she'd slap it across his face and rub it in- making it clear, that she was the dominated twin, and that was that. She kicked his butt at any sort of sport, and he knew it... he knew he was a wimpy guy. He was better at art, after all, and all those other things she was not good at...

Maybe she was being too harsh too but... oh well. In fact, she probably shouldn't even criticize men too much... otherwise, she'd get karma- a backbreaking, shoulder-hurting revenge from one of the best boys on the team... Piko Utatane, the speedy "I'm gonna break your face and watch you sting," devil.

He was quite the rival, she must admit. And he also was a sore loser and "earnest" prankster. And he also was Gumi's best friend, which by no means, ever actually got along with her. And the maleficent girly boy was always flirting with her... in his own unique ways. He was so bad at charisma... and always chose the most cheesiest jokes. Maybe that's why she never got along with him. He set a bad example of love, unlike the perfect couple Len and Aria.

And sure, Len and Aria had their ups and downs... but they even had cute pet names for each other, which made her filled with boiling jealousy... "Ia" and "Lenny." They lived such a perfect world... it seemed hopeless to try to interfere. "Ia" was too nice to bother.

Aria even was beautiful- she had the face of an elf to go with it- but she also had a secret overwhelmingly high pitched temper, and a lack of responsibility even though she grew up in a rich household. Aria held her tongue most of the time, but when someone pushed her buttons too much, or she got irritated- out comes the angry Ia. She was soft spoken, not so much full of words, and full of praises … but BOY did she get irritated! For a 15 year old girl dating a 14 year old boy, (yes, Len is dating someone older then him... ) It was hard to tell at times from her childish behavior who was the real 14 year old, since Len was so opposite of her! Ia wouldn't dare open up her self to anyone else other then her friends, which luckily she was on the list of friends. She wouldn't dare speak with Meiko for example... or anyone for that matter, who was intimidating.

Len, on the other hand, was a gravely talented boy who possessed unknown maturity, although he lost that when he was around his sister... because it was all IA IA IA and not RIN RIN RIN anymore like it used to be. She was not jealous through... nope. Not at all...

Suddenly, she was tapped on the shoulder, and with abruptness, turned around in the spot.

It was Gumi.

"Hey, Rinny-kins! Why do you look so upset?" Gumi seemed to hold her tongue at using annoying nicknames, and driving her up the wall. What ever happen to a simple, "Rin?" Save Rinny-kins for her future boyfriend...

Stay mature! Ah... right.

"Ah, it's nothing Gumi. Just contemplating upon the past. I'm fixating too much on certain issues that don't even matter, like hair issues- um... yeah."

"Ah, I see... bad hair days are the worst, wouldn't you agree?" She paused looking for a nod. Rin gave one. "Everything feels so dull today... people are dropping out of my math club, all my club-mates are trying to talk Piko and Kaito into joining again... it's so tedious when people drop out because it's so called 'boring.' What's so boring about working with numbers?"

"Everything." Rin replied. Gumi dropped her smile. "Besides, Piko Utatane's more of an artist, like Len. And Kaito, is a drama-enthusiastic geek with a pepper shaker for a brain."

The older girl laughed at her comment.

"You should turn up for the writer's club then. They need new people as well." Gumi told her. This time, a serious frown turned upon Rin's face. Even if she were a good writer, and receieved As in English class, didn't mean she actually liked it.

"I have no interest in writing. I'm really only interested in sports."

"Oh, I forgot you had tennis after school. But-" Gumi was cut off by her own laughter as Miku walked into the room. There was a plenty good reason why she laughed, and that was that.

Miku's attire itself consisted of a loosely fit tie (which woman usually never wore) tucked behind a crimson vest, black slacks, and a white undershirt. In other words, she was dressed in the men's uniform. It was downright hilarious, in a unique way, and Gumi had to keep from fueling her need to satire, and making fun of her clothes. It was probably a long story...

"Who woke up on the wrong side of the morning?" Rin chuckled. Miku turned into that pleasantly pink strawberry as the girl before her collapsed into fits of sound-breaking laughter.

"It's not funny!" She snapped. Rin became silent. "Your stupid rival Piko Utatane got paint all over my uniform, after blatantly spilling it all over me!"

"Hey, don't yell at me. I'll tell you what. I'll kick Piko hard in the balls for you while you play innocent, okay?" Rin told her.

Miku shook her head violently.

"Life doesn't work that way, Rin. You can't get your way with violence... besides, Piko didn't mean it on purpose... did he?"

"I was kidding, Miku." Rin simply put. She paused. "So... what are the juicy details?"

"Well, I was walking into the art room to look for Aria, but then I ran into the average "paint drop" set up, and got my uniform soaked in white paint. After chasing after Piko for what seemed to be forever, Piko handed me his extra uniform and gave his apologies so I wouldn't get in trouble. The weird part was, it fits me like it would a regular girl's uniform would... but I must admit, it is a little harsh around the thighs and chest..."

"You're not that big, honey." Rin taunted. She then proceeded to laugh as if exchanging a diabolical plot to take over the world, which scared Gumi and Miku _plenty_. "Juuust kidding. It was quite generous of Gumi's future boyfriend to give you his clothes. After all, we know pretty soon he'll be handing them to-"

Gumi slapped her across the shoulder.

"You're so embarrassing Rin." Gumi complained. "But I actually have no interest in Piko. He's only a friend after all."

An eyebrow rose, and a devious Rin wanted to know more.

"Why be so shallow Gummie Bear? Don't you have someone- anyone one at all... that you like?" With a sinister smile on her face, Rin awaited her answer.

There was a complete stand-still, a pause in the air. No one moved, not even Rin, who was only inches away from the reddening Gumi, with both hands positioned in front of the table before her. The only thing that moved as that deafening smile on her face, and the eyes of the two girls who hovered over her focusing on themselves.

Gumi was checked out from that point- a slave to her imagination and bright red face. She stared... into those eyes of great compassion, with a blank expression on her face. It was like as if she were trying to conceal all the emotion in her face, trying to keep from Rin breaking out and screaming; "You do have someone you like!"

"Well?"

"I-"

There was a small nervous bit of laughter.

"I'll let you guys handle this on your own. I gotta find Aria and tell her what happened." Miku interrupted. She whispered something to Gumi, then spoke out loud. "Don't keep Rin too long, Gumi." She flashed a glare.

As Miku walked off, Gumi's eyes settled on Rin's with a grimace.

"Hey... what's up with Miku?" Rin asked.

"Oh, forget her. She's probably still suffering trauma from the paint incident." Gumi told her. Gumi seemed a little more nervous than usual- biting down on nails nervous. Her eyes were wider than saucers, and her head seemed out of the game. It was typical of Aria to be dreamy, but for Gumi who was always alert and ready... it seemed strange.

"So, who do you like, Gumi? I want all the juicy details!" Rin cried out. Her mind was hungry for another gossip topic, where she would spend days chatting away at Miku telling her that Gumi liked so and so, giggling and laughing and snorting and- wait... she didn't snort. Or gossip. And Gumi was one of her besties, best friends forever. Her secret was safe with her... right?

Despite being oblivious to her feelings, Rin knew something was up between Gumi and Miku. She just couldn't compare the two and two and put them together. It was difficult to even assume that the two of them were more than friends, because of the general glare they had given each other on the way out. Well- it probably had nothing to do with her... she's only 14 after all, and who would date that fourteen year old girl who always seemed to cause nothing but trouble, cheats on tests, and drives all boy's self-elf-esteem to the brink of extinction, anyway?

Wait, wasn't Gumi supposed to reply?

"Gummie Bear?" The nickname seemed to hide her inside a perfectly innocent state, but she was worried for her. "Gumi?"

Gumi could not reply.

"Gumi, why are you so rude? You won't confess your inner passion to me? Well, I guess you don't have to tell me... but I'd really like to know?"

Gumi's face seemed to turn even redder at the reply, until her whole face exploded with rosy cheeks, her head quietly resting on the table beneath her, as if trying to conceal her blush.

"You're so embarrassing..." Gumi grumbled. "I can't stand you anymore, Rin. I don't understand why I try..."

Rin's mouth hanged out wide with shock.

"Gumi! Don't tell me- you're having unrequited love?" Rin asked. "I mean... this lover must be hard to get..."

"My lover is quite stupid at times." Gumi agreed.

"Oh, is he? Is he Piko?" Rin asked. "Cause if he is, that totally makes sense."

"No, Rin." Gumi whispered. He breath sounded shallow. "It's not Piko."

"So, who else would it be? You never talk with Kaito, my brother is out of your range, and we don't know any other boys who could possibly be it." Rin whispered back. "I'm almost considering the fact you've never dating a guy in your life, to mean that you possibly have the ability to love girls like a-"

BRRRRRRRRING!

Gumi stood up right away straight as the bell rang and darted off into the hallways without another word. It was strange how she abruptly left. It almost made her spine tingle, as if the fact she were just about to say, actually true. It was none the less, never false that Gumi had never taken an interest in guys, and perhaps not true she'd fallen for a girl, either. Gumi's heart never crossed the line with girls, and Rin didn't think it'd actually become that way... but...

She was beginning to think she was somehow, oh so terribly wrong.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I understand this chapter is a little bit messy. Forgive me for that. OTL I did use my tactic I did in Tangling with an Opera Phantom and typed out the chapter first on the plannings. The story itself is basically typed out twice, the exception being the first chapter. This chapter is pretty decent, just full of random information. I hope you enjoy anyway~_

_I don't know how many chapters I'll post at a time. I think I'll go with one every other day or something, with the exception to the prologue and first chapter. If the demand is high, maybe more than one chapter. Well, anyway..._

_Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review!_


	3. CH 2: Demise

_Author's Note:_

_The poetry in this chapter was also written by me. In this chapter, you will figure out quickly that Miku is quite impulsive, but she's not usually this way. Hmm... why is that?_

_Well anyway, enjoy~ _

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**Chapter 2:** Demise

The bell rang, signaling after school time. Students from to and fro raced into the hallways to get to their lockers, waddling nervously like chickens in a race. But Rin? Rin felt no need to rush. She only felt the need to reach her locker in time to watch a television show in her locker room. "Daughter of Evil" was on tonight, and it couldn't be missed...

By the time she finally did reach the locker, everyone was gone except for her. Gumi had told her she would be gone in the math room after school until 4:00. Gumi was always busy and it almost made her self-conscious that she never had time for her or Miku. Well, Miku was quite the ninja herself, always disappearing when you least expected it. Heck, neither one of them had bothered to greet her by her locker. It was so freaking strange. They'd usually be psyched to see her, and Aria and Len were too busy making out to even bother visiting her by her locker.

So she was alone. No big deal. All she had to do, was find them and prove to them that Rin Kagamine had not died out in the parking lot somewhere or been hit by a car, because that was certainly how she felt. She was not sad... not at all. Not even disturbed. She was just perplexed. Yes. Very... perplexed.

Needless to say, opening up her locker was easier said than done. You'd think she'd know by now how to handle these locks, since they taught her since 6th grade. Well... lets just say... those darn teachers never taught her how until now.

But... wow.

Rin's eyes popped wide with excitement, at what appeared to be a very romantic letter written on the slim piece of white paper, which had indeed some form of calligraphy. The writing was very handsome, for it was laced with delicate artwork. This boy, must have been an artist like Len. Well... it wasn't Len right? He better not share some sort of secret love story with her. Well, Len was head over heals with Aria. Not her.

The letter demanded opening. The letter itself was a sort of device that told her "Open, please... I'm precious!" and made promises she wouldn't be gutless and shy. In fact, to some relations, the letter itself was a sign that a boy had finally decided to flock over into her neighborhood, pitch in and say "Hello, I am your new date! I love you!" when clearly she probably had never even met them before. Well, she was a 14 year old girl, as long as the guy wasn't a senior, she'd be cool with it.

She read the letter.

_Dearest Rin, _

_Your eyes are beautiful_

_Like shining seas on water_

_I miss your smile_

_You entrance the water_

_Light color with repeating joy_

_And make clouds flow free_

_In your name, I see_

_Spectrums, passionate love _

_And my heart sings;_

"_Meet me at a place_

_at a so called library for time_

_At a place after school?"_

_Signed, _

_Your Secret Admirer _

Rin gave a dreamy sigh, a blush reaching her cheeks. Her secret admirer was charming, enchanting, and gracious. The poetry was well written, which gave insight that her lover had a lot going for him. Rin felt no need to satire at his writing, for it was very poetic and sweet. The hidden message, she realized, was not that he loved her, but rather- to meet her at the library after school. She didn't know if that were now, or later...

Happily, she fled into the library, wasting no time and waiting for someone to approach her. The library had next to no people in it at the time, and they were all too busy reading books or magazines to pay attention to her. Rin quickly grabbed some pink lip gloss out of her backpack, and softly moistened her lips, until they were a soft peach pink. She wasted no time in waiting, and positioned herself in the back. After all, she didn't want to make a fool out of herself.

She could spot Miku out in the hallway, who looked over in her direction. She waved, smiling- wondering where Miku could have gone. Unbeknownst to her, Miku was heading the same direction as her, and made her way into the building. She made her way into the library, and something hit Rin's heart hard. Miku... was all dressed up. Some of her hair was pulled up into an updo, contrasting her usual twin-tailed look. Miku, looked stunning, even if her clothes were still the ordinary school girl clothing, but Rin was curious to know WHY she dressed up, not that she was pretty. Even if it were true.

Miku was approaching her rapidly now, and Rin realized she was even wearing high heels, which made her fit for classy appearance. She sat down next to her, as if somehow _knowing_ she'd be there.

Miku had a lot to talk about, for certain, but Rin couldn't help but question her. She hadn't even shown up in class today after lunch, and she knew they both shared a class. Miku seemed a little out of it, too...

Her eyes were strongly fixated on hers too, equivalent to the stare of a creepy stalker. Was she checking her out? What nerves does Miku even have? They must be made of steel!

"Miku... where have you been? I didn't see you in algebra. You're all fancied up too, like you've got some sort of date going on..." Rin quietly said.

"I was busy shopping downtown with Gumi." Miku replied coolly.

"That's no excuse for why you're here in this library, and not greeting me by the locker. What, you got a date? I'm waiting for my poetic secret admirer to show up, but I guess he's a no show." Rin replied.

For some reason, that made Miku brighten up a little more in the face then usual, and seem a little more self-conscious. But Miku still held that intense stare.

"You're secret admirer _is_ here, Rin." She told her slowly.

Rin's jaw dropped open. _Wide _open. So open, it had not even bothered to reach the ground. Her smile, and all of it, dropped instantly. Was she joking? Was it really her- her best friend... was Miku a lesbian?

"N-no way. Your joking... you are-" Rin's eyes fell to the love letter that was written by her secret admirer. She quickly scanned it, realizing it sounded very much like Miku. Every last bit of it, down to the poetic substance. Miku was a gracious poetry-type girl... a great writer. No one could write it better than Miku.

She'd been fooled.

"Y-you're crazy! Insane! Absurd! I'm using big words because of you- I- I- I have no interest in girls, don't you see?! _You like me? _In THAT way? I can't believe you! That you'd do that to yourself. I thought you already knew I'm straight, I'm in no way a lesbian- can't you see that?"

Miku looked like she was about ready to cry, while Rin attracted a big audience of people telling her to shush. She quietly added.

"Look... I don't mean any harsh meanings. But I have to reject you. I'm so angry at you for doing this- It's the stupidest thing you've done since when I first came here. I swear, I'll go freaking mad if any other girls are attracted to me- I'm not some sort of girl magnet, you know?" Rin harshly whispered.

"I know Rin... I thought I'd get it out of the way. But... I can't have it any other way. I crave for you Rin- my heart aches every time I'm away from you. I've never felt this way before... not even in grade school." Miku whispered.

Were those tears coming out of her eyes?

"W-wait... Miku... don't cry..." Rin softly whispered.

"It's so painful... you should be glad you don't have to experience the burdens I go through, Rin..." Miku harsh whispered. "But because you rejected me, I feel like I have no hope..."

Rin softly mumbled in her ear.

"Let's go back to our dorm... we're attracting too much unwanted attention." Rin muttered. As a friend, she was forced to take care of her best-friend's pain, even if her best friend hated her guts now. Or loved her. Or both.

She was kinda freaked out still... by Miku's confession... and she couldn't imagine what her life would be like living with a girl who desired a romantic relationship with her. Who desired more than a friendship. Ugh.

Needless to say, Rin quickly grabbed Miku's hand and guided her out of the library. Miku held her anger and sadness very well, and both of them knew Gumi was still back at the after school math club, and wouldn't be done until evening.

They reached the area with little time to waste. Rin had skipped tennis practice. Miku, an evening writing class. Gumi was the only one who had actually gone to their after school program. She had a feeling she knew why Miku had skipped, and it wasn't because of shopping after school. No.

Miku was never as careless as she had been today. Miku was never one to be careless, never at all. She was always precise in her literature, poems and all. She wrote Haikus like an angel. She sang every note on key. What bothered her, was not Miku's carelessness, but her target for her carelessness. Why her? It seemed so odd...

She let her inside. And Miku, dearest Miku... let it all go. Right in front of her, her eyes popped out of their sockets with bulging tears, she got so angry, she started to shake and threw her belongings into the air. She lost it completely, throwing a temper tantrum like a child who was overindulged. She locked herself in the bathroom, but all that came out was a sea of sadness. Rin couldn't help but feel bad for her, and something resided deep inside of her. Guilt? It was her fault for making her so sad. For tearing apart her best friend. All it took was a single rejection to make her shatter. To make her fall to pieces.

Rin, wanted to cry now. She'd never felt so frustrated in her life. She hoped Miku wouldn't be tempted to break her, or punish her for her actions. She didn't even do anything wrong, but now, even Rin felt like crying. And it wasn't because she was frustrated.

Apparently Miku's sadness was infectious.

Rin didn't feel like doing anything at the moment, but decided to turn on the TV and watch Daughter of Evil. She made herself some popcorn, sat down, and tried to enjoy the show... but all of her thoughts... every one of those darn nerves in her mind... down to every cell in her body... was worried about Miku. Miku... had been in the bathroom for an extremely long time. She figured it was okay to unlock the door, to check to see if she were okay.

Before she could even do that, Miku had came out and flashed a glare at her. Before Rin could stop herself, she asked;

"Hey, what's up?"

Before Miku could stop herself she harshly whispered;

"I'm too frustrated with you. I love you, I fell in love with you on hopes I could be with you... but I can't stand you now... or ever again..." Miku rasped. "I don't understand... why not?"

"Gumi briefly said the same thing." Rin replied. "She told me briefly,'I can't stand you anymore, I don't know why I try'- don't you know how much that hurts? It stung plenty. And to hear it from you too- what, are you some sort of asshole?"

"You pay too much attention to Gumi yourself, you jerk! You're always with her, and you never ever spend time with me!" Miku shouted. "If I had it my way, you'd be my lover, and we'd spent more time together than Len and Aria does on daily basis!"

"Spend more time? You hardly even saw me today, none the less, spent time with me! I tried to find you earlier, but you disappeared after your clothes got paint all over them by Piko!" Rin spat.

"I was out window shopping! For you, in fact! I knew your birthday was in December, and wanted to give you something special..." Miku defended. "But, I never knew this would tear us apart so easily."

Rin was silent for the next couple of minutes, her eyes a little wide. But then, her face darkened.

"You're over reacting to think I would accept a gift when I know it's not out of friendship." Rin harshly said in a low tone. "You stupid lesbian."

Something... made Miku snap right then and there. She grabbed Rin's arm, and shoved her to the nearest wall. The fear that appeared on her face was phenomenal, but she fought Miku's grip at all ends.

Miku, however was desperate, and her grip was much stronger then Rin's would ever be, even if Miku didn't participate in any sports. She had the advantage of taking karate at one point in time, which wielded her into a strong-held woman, but she was only a yellow belt.

Even then, Rin was still powerless against her attack. And so, Miku thrust herself into Rin, inches away from her face. Rin started to break down and squirm, with little movements between her. It was just not fair! Just not fair at all... Miku had completely lost it! Miku had completely and utterly lost it!

Would it be like this everyday? Every hour? All this- forcing romance upon what she deemed only friendship? Rin wanted to cry, but Miku wouldn't let her. Every tear that came out was wiped away, until there were no more tears, and Miku's hand was wet. Cries were yelled- "Stop it- oh god... stop it Miku!" but Miku was in a cloudy fog as her lips met upon Rin's.

Only then, after a brief kiss, and a few rummaging of clothes did Rin finally get a chance to break free and escape through the front door.

Of course, she slapped Miku first.


	4. CH 3: Infamy

_Author's Note:_

_I apologize for Rin's out of control behavior in this chapter. She says some rather provocative things. I didn't realize that it sounded bad until after I had read it again- this story was not made for an audience. Rin does say some very offense terms to Miku's status, but it's only because she's confused, and confusion can make someone feel "out of it" or act self-centered. Miku herself, probably shouldn't have done what she did, but she felt this way for various reasons, so it's basically like blind rage, which is a common trait in this story. _

_Just thought I'd throw that out of the way~ If this story needs to go up in rating, let me know and I'll change it. _

**Chapter 3: **Infamy

Pitter patter, pitter patter. Her footsteps resounded through the valley and through her heart as she ran through the pavement with bare feet. She raced across the school, until she was utterly breathless. No time to grab her shoes. No time for a shower. No time for anything. Just... run.

She raced through every single place, searching for Aria or Len, or at least _someone_ who wasn't Miku. She wanted to cry, she'd never felt so distraught. Getting her first kiss stolen by her best friend? Despicable! She wanted to scream her heart out, she hated Miku so much... even if she were to apologize, she'd never EVER forgive her!

Heck, she was half dressed, and sweat stuck to her dreary skin like no tomorrow. Dammit. Dammit she wanted to cry! She would swear ten-thousand tears for the way she felt! If Miku chased after her, she'd kick her! Punch her! Use violence to solve her problem of sticking to her like glue! But... she was over reacting a little bit. But still.. why would she do such a thing! Just... UGH!

No time to react, she felt something sharp jab her naked feet, and fell headfirst into the grass. She could feel someone's presence linger there, and knew who it was. Slowly, they crept up to her, but she was in too much pain to sit up.

_Dammit!_ She wanted to cry. _I... Lost. She can't have me! She can't do this to me... I have to get out... I have to-_

"Rin?" The girl asked.

Rin begrudgingly turned around and braced for another kiss. It never came.

"Rin, it's me: Yukari." Yukari turned her attention to her feet. She gasped. "You're bleeding! Why are you barefoot, don't you know there's sticker bushes around? Here, I'll help you up."

Yukari held out her hand, and a limping Rin took it.

"Here, rest your body against my shoulder. I'll take you back to my dorm." Rin did as told, regardless of the circumstances. "What were you running from, anyway?"

Rin stayed quiet as she limped with Yukari to her dorm room, bypassing students who gave her weird glances. Some even gave sick chuckles, which made Rin frown in retrospect. How the hell was running into a sticker bush a funny thing?

She sighed, as the eventually made it inside. Of course, Aria was there, Yukari's room mate. Aria came from the kitchen, wielding a spatula like an armed weapon, as if she were going to swat Yukari with it on a whim. She lowered her defenses.

"Yukari, might I ask why Rin is here with a bloody foot?"Aria asked.

"I don't know. She ran into a sticker bush and was running from something." Yukari responded. "She's refusing to talk, even now."

Refusing to talk didn't mean that she wasn't suffering!

"Strange..." Aria muttered. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Yukari nodded her head, and laid Rin's semi-hurt body in the couch, resting her injured foot against the end. Her eyes quickly drew to the furiously unbuttoned sweater, and tampered with underskirt. The bow had been untied, as if it were meddled with. Rin herself had cast off an empty stare, and closed her eyes, but no one could read what was on her mind. She was tired... and she wanted to sleep.

Yukari woke her up.

"Hey, did something happen between you and Miku?" Yukari asked.

Rin sighed. She didn't want to make Miku look bad... but she knew it was best if Yukari knew about her. She was still riled up from being harassed, but so exhausted from running from her... she could barely stop herself from telling the truth...

"Miku... kissed me!" Rin suddenly shouted. "She forcefully subdued me!"

Yukari's eyes went wide.

"Miku used her abilities in karate to keep me where I was, her grip was so strong- but I was so weak. But I caught her off guard..." Rin whispered. "And I ran, I ran like hell!"

Yukari had a questioning look on her face and Aria popped her head from the kitchen.

"Why would Miku kiss you?" Yukari asked, shocked. "Miku's not one to be so forceful."

"It was a mistake for Miku to write that love letter- but her poetry was so good, I thought it had come from someone else! Miku lured me into the library... Miku explained herself, but I didn't take it well... back at our dorm, we got into an argument, and she k-kissed me... god, Yukari! She scared the hell out of me! I hate her! Why can't she just disappear?"

With this, Rin fell into tears once more, and both Aria and Yukari looked at each other with blank expressions on their eyes, and Aria walked to where Yukari was standing.

"Or better yet, why can't I disappear? Because, it's my fault she feels this way towards me. It's my fault because I exist in this world..." Rin whispered.

"It's not your fault, Rin. And neither is hers." Aria told her. "These feelings are hard to place, and the reality is, this world is full of harsh relapses. In a way, Miku's going through just as hard of a time as you... but in a different matter."

"... but Aria, you don't understand. Don't you see these undressed clothes? Miku was planning on doing more than a little "guilty pleasure" trips. Miku was planning on bringing it further..." Rin whispered.

Yukari and Aria gazed upon her body, realizing that indeed a couple of her clothes were missing.

"While I don't agree with what Miku did, I can understand for a few why she did it." Yukari stated. "You see, I suffered with the same feelings for Ia for a while, but I realized Ia had an interest in someone else- your brother, Len. I can recall my feelings as if it were still yesterday... Ia was without a doubt, so beautiful in her school clothes, and her hair was always dressed so gorgeously. But, once I told her my feelings, Ia told her she didn't feel that way for me, and the truth stung. Now, I never went as far as Miku, but for a while, we avoided each other. But, once I accepted that she'd never love me that way, everything returned to normal, and she accepted me once more."

"Are you saying, that eventually Miku will return to normal?" Rin asked. "She'll forget all about her sexual tenancies and revert to who she was?"

"Perhaps." Yukari replied. "But it's not so easy. It took me forever to realize such things."

"If you're telling me this, why didn't you tell Miku this?"

"Because Miku was being too stubborn. You should know by now, that whenever Miku falls in love, she avoids all her problems, and takes big risks. She never thinks before she acts, because she's blinded by being in love with you."

Rin shook her head, changing the position of her leg. Miku had never been one to create risks, hurt other people's feelings, or even force them into submission. Heck, no Miku would ever defy their best-friend's needs, so it seemed quite unfair that Miku would even TRY to kiss her, let alone ruin their friendship. But, if what Yukari says is true, then Miku outta re grasp her sanity, right?

"What am I supposed to do then?" Rin asked. "She can't beat me into submission. She can't be so hungry about her needs for sexual satisfaction, none the less, breathing down my neck because I can't go out with her. What do I do?"

Yukari and Aria both sighed, looking at each other anxiously.

"The only thing you really can do, is apologize, and hope she understands you don't feel that way." Aria told her. "Once she's done crying, comfort her, and tell her you'll still be there for her."

"Don't let your feelings get in the way." Yukari added. "Miku's just as mad as you about this."

"I understand." Rin told her. "Well, I feel it's too early to walk back to my dorm. Perhaps I can stay here, for now?"

"No can do." Yukari told her, shaking her head. "Ia has her parents coming over, and they'd be very shocked to see you here, in the condition you're in. I'll call up Len, and see if he wants to keep you for the night." Rin opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted. "Don't worry, I know he's in a dorm by himself, with an extra bed."

Before Rin could stop her, she dialed the phone number. Len answered the phone, wondering who would call at such a time, but then Yukari answered and told him Rin needed to sleep in his dorm tonight, because of a certain incident with Miku. Len, of course, asked what the incident was, but Yukari told her Rin would tell the rest of the story.

Ugh. Rin wanted to cry out. Even if they were siblings, she knew it was against the rules to be a girl and partner up in a dorm room with a boy, so if she were caught: she'd be in huge trouble.

Yukari finished the conversation off with "Don't be surprised surprised if she's barefoot and half dressed." and hanged up before he could reply.

Ugh. Just the idea of being barefoot and half dressed in front of her brother, made her stomach swirl in disgust. How embarrassing that Yukari would even mention that!

"Do you need a wrap for your foot, or are you fine?" Yukari asked. "We've got bandages in our bathroom."

"I'm fine. I'll just wear a sock." She lied. Her foot was killing her... and knowing Len, he'll probably overreact if he saw the bandage. For a twin brother, he overreacted to anything she did, even if she insulted him. He was such a girl at times... he'd probably even react to seeing her like this... she'd better fix herself up.

That reminded her...

"Is there a jacket or a pair of jammies I can borrow from you, Yukari?" Rin asked. "I know we wear the same size..."

"Certainly." Yukari replied. "I'll let you borrow my rain boots too, I got plenty more since Ia likes to buy them around this time. Here: I'll get them."

"Thank you." Rin bowed. "You know, It's a real shame I don't know you guys better than I do. I feel like I should get to know you better..."

Yukari turned around, shoes and clothes in hand.

"It's the least we can do to help you. It's called empathy." Yukari told her. "Maybe one day, Miku will understand. Even so, there is a small chance you will grow feelings as well."

Rin shivered at the thought of falling in love with Miku, as she handed her the boots and slipped them on. They were cute little rain boots, with a little bit of purple in them and a bunny pattern, so Rin didn't mind wearing them. The coat itself was a long sleek black, had many cute pockets and such, and came to her knees. The extra pair of pajamas she was borrowing, was made out of silk and had gray and black patterns laced into it with a bunny logo in the middle. Even so, these clothes reminded her of nothing but what Miku would want to see her in.

The doorbell rang.

Ia answered it, and it was revealed to be Len, like usual. Ia welcomed Len with a hug, who immediately set his eyes upon Rin and gave her a warm hug as well. There was a hesitant smile in his eyes as he let go and proceeded to walk into the door.

"I thought you'd be half naked." Len retorted. He sighed. "I was so worried about how Yukari had made it sound! Wait a minute- those are her clothes. And shoes. What is going on here?"

"Len, Miku likes me. Like, likes me. She tried to get her satisfaction through kissing the living daylights out of me and unbuttoning some of my clothes. She was angry at me, I shouldn't have pushed her buttons so far... she liked me more than a friend, and I payed for it. She tried to get me to be her girlfriend by fooling me through a love letter. But Len, I know... I know I don't like her that way. She's my best friend... how could she ever be anything more? I love her, but not like that... not enough to make her dreams come true. That's why I can't be in my dorm right now."

"Rin... don't worry. I've already decided with Yukari. I'll let you spend the night, but you must go home tomorrow. Piko will think it's odd that my sister wants to spend the night here, and he's a huge tattle tale and will misunderstand. But, tonight, I didn't invite him over. And if he calls, I'll make up an excuse. Just... don't worry. Now, come on. Ia's mother will be here any minute."

Rin waved goodbye, stepping outside with her brother. It by then, had gotten a little bit dark, and Len tightly had his arm around her at the time being. It was cold, and Len had not brought a coat for himself, but Rin didn't feel like borrowing, as she was chilly too.

It was rather cold for it's time, but Rin knew at any moment, Halloween was just around the corner. In Cryptonaria, it hardly snowed, and never did it get as bad as it did in her old home, Clarity.

Well, anyway.

The Dusty Devil was to the right of them, which unnerved her and set her heart on fire. The Dusty Devil had such a gloomy, empty appearance- the old unfurnished building had an off limits sign to it. She'd heard stories of people disappearing and never returning, to that old building on the top of the hill. It was full of secrets, waiting to be discovered- the Dusty Devil, as it was called, was named for it's old dusty appearance... and as for the devil part... no one really knew. She recalled Len mentioning at some point in time, that his dorm was close to the Dusty Devil.

Everyone avoided it. Even Yukari, who she knew was a dare-devil, would never dare go near it unless inclined.

Len gripped her even tighter. He knew how dangerous it was to go near the Dusty Devil alone, especially at night, and guided her into his dorm. He knew the dangers of such things, the questions that occurred, the things that needed to be said- he was a wimp, and wouldn't dare break the rules the school had set up.

1. Don't go near if you dare.

2. Don't go inside.

3. Don't stay off the school boundaries for long.

And most certainly,

4. Don't go there on Halloween.

Right. Everyone knew that. Yet... people break the rules, get in trouble, and then get sent to the principal's office and thus- get expelled from the school. They were awful at enforcing rules, Rin realized, so maybe that's the reason Miku and her never got in trouble. It was also why the school had the pen name; "The Boarding School of Dread," or "The Most Violent School in the History of Cryptonaria." or even: "Bloody-filled Fanged Demon of the Valley." Heck, she's even heard Gumi get called a bloodsucking leech before. But they do try to enforce the rules. Sometimes. _Sometimes. _Which is why, Rin would never want to be caught in her brother's dorm.

As much as part of her didn't want Miku kicked out for what she did, she wouldn't mind if it became reality. As her school never ever catches anything, and anything at all... she knew that Miku would never be caught trying to smack her lips into hers, tear off her clothes, or send shivers down her back...

Shaking her head, she realized they had stopped at the door.

Len let her in, and she followed. She sniffed the air, smelling something tasty- and knowing her, she was plenty hungry. She walked into the kitchen, and saw on the table, barbeque chicken with pea soup. Her stomach growled with delight. Without warning, she took a plate of her own, and started munching down on it at the table, before he could even say a word. He sighed.

"Can you at least ask before you eat my food?" He gestured.

"Nope. You're my brother, remember? I don't need to ask." Rin replied.

"Right... so that means I can barge into your dorm and eat your food..."

"I didn't mean it that way, dumby." Her eyes narrowed. "Besides, knowing that I have to be back at my dorm, where Miku can plainly get all hormony and start flipping making out with me... don't you think that if Piko felt the same way towards you, he'd kiss you in a heart beat?"

Len sighed.

"You're quite right, Rin." He admitted. "But, Piko doesn't feel that way, thankfully."

"Be glad about that." Rin sighed. "So, where's your spare bed? I'm overwhelmingly tired from bawling my eyes out over this, and I feel like I have way more crying to do. Don't you have any Kleenex?"

"The Kleenex is already in there, and the bed is second to my room." Len gestured. "Just go to bed. I'm sure you'll fall straight to sleep."

Rin none the less, fell asleep quite quickly.

But all she dreamed about was Miku.


	5. CH 4: Suicide

_Author's Note:_

_This is probably quite unexpected. (At least I hope so. )_

_I didn't realize Gumi came back in this chapter. My bad. xD_

_This is where the horror element begins, just so you know. That's all I'll say, so read on! ;)_

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Suicide

Miku intoxicated her mind for a while, tendering placing her lips amongst hers... making reality seem distorted. But it wasn't reality, right? Or was it...

She liked it, somehow. This Miku seemed a lot nicer... this Miku seemed to be someone she'd _want_ to steal her breath away. Miku seemed so... cute... that she'd wrapped her arms around her and caressed her face. But before she could pull away, Miku brought her into a kiss.

Miku... seemed so perfect at the moment. These feelings, were stronger than ever. How she adored her... how she loved her how she-

Miku seemed a little funny, now that she thought of it. Miku's smile seemed so distorted... like it was coming from a rag doll. Suddenly, her eyes opened up wide, and she grabbed a dagger from behind her back and attempted murder, with a high pitched "Tehehehehehe!" laugh.

Of course, as you can see, Rin woke up sweating like a pig from the dream. And there was knocking on the door. And that really, _really_ frightened her. Her eyes scanned the room, wondering if it were a killer Miku who was going to seduce her and then strike a knife into her throat- but it wasn't likely. Instead, she mustered up all the red iron courage she has, and bolted through to the main door with an umbrella in her hand.

Bracing herself for any sort of evil, she opened the door. A chilly Gumi then proceeded to chatter her teeth and walk through the door, and Rin politely closed it behind her. Gumi had a rather bizarre look on her face, and yesterday, it seemed like Gumi really was trying to avoid her, for whatever strange bizarre reason.

Once Gumi was inside, she looked at her with a worried expression on her face. Rin panicked. She'd never seen Gumi so worried before.

"Why didn't you ever go into you're dorm? I was looking all over for you." She told her in a low whisper. Surely, she wanted to keep her voice down because of Len? And how can she trust her, even after today? Gumi avoided her. Miku kissed her. They both are acting suspicious.

She wondered...

"Miku... kissed me and confessed to me that she loved me." Rin responded. "She tried to do more with me, but then I ran out the door, and ended up meeting Yukari who lead me to her dorm. Yukari... she and Aria helped me feel better once I explained everything to them, and ended up sending me over here because of Aria's mother coming over. That's why I'm wearing Yukari's pajamas."

Gumi sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rin. I... provoked her. Provoked her to take those actions. It's my fault." Gumi slowly explained. Rin's eyes widened. "It was like a competition... winning your heart. We didn't mean to take it so far..."

"I-is it true?" Rin asked. Gumi reluctantly nodded her head. "D-do you love me like Miku?"

"I do. I love you a lot, Rin. You're very precious to me. It's my fault, I'm so sorry... I will only take action if you love me back, I'm not like Miku." Gumi told her.

Rin's body began to shake.

"I... don't like you back, I'm sorry Gumi. Why don't you date Miku, instead? Since you guys are lesbians and all..." Rin recommended.

"It's not that easy." Gumi told her. "Miku is a very dominant person when it comes to relationships, she's not my type at all, and she'll never easily give up on you. Like you, I've longed for a relationship with a boy, but then- I realized your boy-like strengths, and fell in love. I hated feeling this way, but I've come to acknowledge it. I'm sorry Rin, it's all my fault..."

"Then, why are you here so late? Just how did you find me?" Rin asked accusingly. "You can't possibly be here for a good reason!"

"I'm sorry Rin, it's truly all my fault... I visited Miku before I came here... but no one answered. I walked inside, only to see M-Miku having collapsed on the ground with an empty pillbox... I called the hospital as soon as possible, and they took her away. Oh god Rin, I feel so bad..."

Rin's eyes expanded until her entire face was lit up in shock.

"I found a note written only for you on the table. I brought it with me so you could read it." Gumi told her.

Rin hesitantly watched as she took the note out of her pocket.

The words were all written in red ink.

_Life is meaningless_

_And it has left me dead inside_

_Following to death_

_Gracious Rin you are_

_Too bad you can't save me now _

_As I tie myself loose_

_I lost everything _

_Myself, you, my friends, my mind _

_I hate these losses_

_Should I do this, love?_

_Should I destroy what we have?_

_Or darkness be me?_

_One word runs through minds_

_Undecided, switching, twisting_

_A word which pleads to mind;_

_**Kill me.** _

Rin was silent.

She was so horrified, that no words could convey. So very... horrified. Her mouth was a gaping expression, an escalating horror. Miku, who had seemed so put together, so confident... why would she do this to herself? This demanded more answers. Gumi seemed so much more put together than Miku... but even now, seemed on the edge of collapsing.

She didn't know how much of those sleeping pills her best friend had taken... but if it were enough to put her into the hospital, she knew there was nothing she could do to prevent her death. God... Rin just want to cry right now! Cry into Gumi's shirt, and forget. Forget about Miku...

Gumi surely did hold her into that embrace, embracing her so warmly... And tears fell from her eyes. And she cried, surely cried, until all the tears were wiped from her eyes.

"Why would Miku do that to herself..." Rin whispered. "I... I really loved her. I don't know why I was so- so stubborn... oh god, Gumi... I loved her so much... why did I yell at her?"

"I don't know, Rin." Gumi whispered.

"What is this commotion all about?"A third voice asked.

They turned to see Len with a sleepy-eyed look on his face.

"It's Miku. She's in the hospital." Gumi told him.

"Oh no... what happened?" Len asked.

"She... overdosed on sleeping pills."

"Overdosed? Why would Miku do that? It seems so unlike her..."

Rin seemed so miserable that no one could help her. The truth bit like a flea, and sucked away her energy. The truth hurt so much, and she could do nothing against it. Miku... her best friend... had loved her. Loved her, to the point of suicide. Rin didn't know whether to be mad, to be sad, to inflict pain upon herself, or to blame every last thing that had happened all on her. Rin didn't know, what exactly to do. It was all her fault, that Miku was dying. All of it... was hers.

As the two talked it through, Rin quietly read through the letter Gumi had given her. She knew Miku was one for poetry... she never imagined her using it like this, though. It... ached. Tears started to stain the paper. "God dammit!" She cried. "God dammit... god damn it all! She's on the verge of death... there's nothing I can do... dammit, Miku just- dammit to hell... you don't know how much pain you're inflicting on me..."

Gumi and Len turned their heads towards Rin, and enveloped her in a hug.

"We'll be here for you, Rin." Len whispered. "Because, after all- we need each other more than ever."

"Some things just can't be helped, can they? Even when our world seems so out of control, we'll be by your side. You don't have to tell us otherwise." Gumi added.

"Sniff... sniff... Dammit... maybe I did love her after all, Len. Maybe I'm just too stubborn, because this hurts so much..."

"There's no need to play hero, Rin. Just get back on your toes and try your best." Gumi replied. She and Len let go. "Well, I'll have to get going. It's five o' clock in the morning, and I need some well deserved sleep before school. Well, if I can sleep at this point... I'm still way too rattled."

As Gumi left, Rin suddenly collapsed in Len's arms.

"I want to visit her..." Rin cried out. "I have to know if she's okay!"

"Rin, Rin... you're over reacting, you need your sleep." Len tried to explain. "You need to-"

"SHUT UP! You don't know how much I'm suffering. Miku could be dead, and you wouldn't care- I'm leaving whether you like it or not!"

"Wait!"

He grabbed her hand. She tried to make him let go, but he was stubborn.

"You're not going alone." He stated. He gave her a stern look and added; "I'm coming with."


	6. CH 5: Of Pepper and Spice

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry for the long wait. School got in the way of my posting, as well as health problems. :(_

_I'm just extremely stressed. I've managed to calm myself a little through breathing exercises and the likes. I think I'll continue practicing them. _

_This story doesn't help with my mood. Next time, I'll probably write something a little bit happier and more air free instead of air tight. :)_

_I also got discouraged cause I lost a reader in the last chapter I posted. That's okay... I'd still like to know what I could do to make this better. There's absolutely no harm in giving me an idea of what needs to be improved upon, all I ask is that you tell me in a sensible way. (Like: Don't go off telling me I did this and this and this wrong and mean it in an offensive manner. It's okay if you describe the problem, and then give solutions )_

* * *

**Chapter 5:** Of Pepper and Spice

The arrival of the hospital, with it's extreme whiteness, clean smell of disinfectants and ridiculed waiting rooms, was a reality. A painful reality. The place was so abnormally clean, it seemed to project foul play, as if they picked off every dust and germ in the entire place. All around them, people of all ages were lined up against the counter, waiting to see their loved ones. Little kids, adults, and even teenagers like the two of them- all here to see their mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, grandmas and grandpas, or any other sort of relative.

It seemed like a painful reality, being here- knowing that Miku was in one of those rooms, dying of oxygen loss. It was never like Miku to do such things. Not at all. Not in the slightest. It'd be amazing if somehow, she were awake, and she were happy to see her... but it wasn't likely. Rin only brought grief upon Miku. And Miku, only brought grief upon her. It had been that way, and she'd never known it... never... really acknowledged it.

It was pointless to see her, she knew. She knew it was the end. But maybe... it was just the beginning. Not the end. The beginning... of long term suffering. The beginning of long term pain. Emotions, struggles... the beginning of the end. The beginning of her new life. Her dark story, told from dark corners...

It was without a doubt... her fault. All her fault. Every last bit of it. She wanted, more than anything, for Miku to stop suffering. To stop feeling so much pain. She wanted Miku to survive the day... she wanted Miku to feel better, not worse. She even wanted Miku to feel appreciated, and loved... maybe she couldn't give that to her, or maybe she could. But she really didn't want her to suffer anymore.

This in mind, her and Len went into the check stand.

"Ah, hello, how may I help you?" The nurse asked quietly.

Len spoke up.

"We'd like to see Miku Hatsune." He told her.

"Ah, that is room number twenty on the second floor. Take an elevator, and then turn to your left. It should be the first door to the left. I will let the doctor know you'll be visiting. Have a nice day!"

Len nodded his head, and motioned Rin towards the elevator. Her heart was beating so loudly... why was that? Up the elevator went... but so did her heart, oh how it skyrocketed. Now on the second floor. Walk through the elevator into the second floor... step onto the ground. Turn left. There. There it was.

And she could see Miku in the distance, alive and well, munching on an apple. As she neared closer, her head turned up and she could see Miku struggling in the bed. She panicked among seeing her as she turned her head towards her as she squirmed like a worm, trying to get off the bed.

"Miku?" Rin asked. Miku shot a glare, but stayed silent. Rin wondered why she couldn't get off the bed. "Are you alright?"

Miku struggled, and she could not move off the bed. She growled;

"What kind of strange fantasy land am I in? Dearest princess Rin, why are you wearing a boy's trousers? You know madam Meiko wouldn't like that."

Rin was fairly confused.

"Miku? What are you even talking about? I'm not even wearing trousers. I'm wearing Yukari's clothes." Rin told her.

She stepped closer to her, only to show her she wasn't wearing pants of any sort. Miku took a good look, gasped, and then put her hand over her head and sighed;

"Ahh~ You're so romantic in that fancy jacket... I have to make you my prince." She suddenly jerked her hand towards her, and pulled her close to her. Rin let her, but she definitely felt butterflies in her stomach. She didn't like being so close to someone who couldn't tell reality from fantasy. "No dream has ever been as vivid as this one! Just to have you by my side... prince Rin..."

"Ah, Miku... in case you didn't know... we aren't in one of your erotic fantasies about me." Rin pointed out.

"What's the color of your underwear then?" Miku asked.

Rin blushed, and smacked her hand away.

"Pervert!" She cried out. "Don't be like Len on a bad day!"

Miku darkly laughed, grabbing her arm.

"You're mine... Every single day I'm without you... I suffer..." She dug her nails into her arm. "And I suffer." She dug deeper, Rin crying out in pain. "_And I suffer._" She dug in so hard, blood started to draw back from her arm. "And I-"

Len pulled Rin away after that. The impact was enough to scare the two of them half to death, and Rin's face was whiter than snow as she touched her bloody arm and cried out;

"M-Miku what are you doing? Why are you giving me such a weird smile?" Rin had to keep from flipping out... for Miku. For Len. For... everyone.

She must have been having a nightmare.

"You're going to go to hell for what you did to me, Rin!" Miku cried out. "Seducing me like that, kissing me... taking away everything I ever had... You're nothing but a girl trapped in your own imaginary world... I hate you!"

"Len, is Miku having a psychotic episode or something?" Rin whispered into his ear with worry.

"I'm not sure..." Len answered.

"She is, unfortunately." Came a third voice. Len and Rin turned around to see it was the doctor. "I'm surprised to even see you're here, the nurse wasn't supposed to let anyone in here."

Miku was now yelling incoherent sentences, which sent chills down Rin's back.

"What's wrong with her?" Len asked. "She's never been like this before..."

"It's a simple conclusion. From our testing, we've come to conclude that Miku has a huge chemical imbalance in her body, from drug abuse. We've concluded Miku may never be the same from the amount of toxins entered into her body at one point, as she not only took sleeping pills, but she also took drugs as well, for a span of two weeks." The doctor concluded.

Rin's mouth dropped. Surely, surely her best friend wouldn't be insane forever? She looked at Miku, then looked back at Len, then surely looked back at the doctor. No... her best friend was not crazy. She'd never do such a thing! She suspected foul play! It just couldn't be... Miku was the most sensible, honest person she ever knew. She'd never do such an evil thing such as take drugs or intoxicate herself!

"No... it can't be..." Rin voice was full of agony. "Why must this all happen to me? Miku's my best friend... it's impossible... not even her feelings for me could cause her to do this... it just seems so out of line..."

It stung. It stung so much to know that Miku was blaming everything on her, when she really didn't have anything to do with it. Miku must have been out of her mind... a bizarre, psycho lunatic... that was the only conclusion she could reach.

The doctor slowly bowed his head.

"I'm sorry." He told her plainly. "We currently don't know what type of drugs she took. There is a hope of recovery, though."

No, no! She couldn't have it. Even with a hope of recovery... why would Miku...? No!

"Thanks for your time." Len told him. "We must get going..."

And yet, Len seemed so emotionless... seemed so dead as he grabbed Rin's hand and exited the room before she could even say goodbye. Perhaps he was just protecting her, or perhaps he was just being Len. But still... Miku... taking drugs... she couldn't believe it. Why?

Down the hallway they went, exiting the doctor's office... yet Rin couldn't stop thinking of the horrifying incident that was Miku, digging her nails into her skin like a raging psychopath... with inconsistent thoughts invading the poor girl's mind, and her eyes glowing red with hatred. What could Miku possibly mean by that she was the one who did all this to her? Was she rehearsing her own thoughts about herself? No... she had cried out her name. She had told her this was all her fault, when it obviously wasn't... and cried herself to sleep. Was Miku's thoughts really just that rattled?

She shook her head... and everything they'd been through ran through her mind. From a simple visit with Gumi... to Miku's forceful and rather serious kiss... and now up to this, where Miku's lost her head. Did she really lose it all? She didn't know...

But Rin had a feeling it was going to get nothing but worse. The stomach knots told her so, and her sorrow seemed to increase once she set her foot back the school premises. She turned her head, and her stomach dropped once she and Len walked by another seemingly "innocent" makeout between Rui and Zatsune. If she could just walk away without being spotted... they wouldn't bug her, and she wouldn't have to deal with one of her cousins.

Rui and Zatsune were considered the"Red Leech Duo" of Red Valley Boarding School. Zatsune got the name for being a higher up of the school like Gumi, but abusing her power and using it to belittle others. Rui got it for being catty, crude, wild and unpredictable. They dated each other for simplistic values, mostly for feeling good about each other. They were nothing alike, of course. Oh, and Rin happened to be related to the scoundrel.

If she could only bypass them so easily she'd...

Wait a minute.

Zatsune had her eyes on her. Eek! Go go go go go!

"Well, if it isn't your cousin, Rui." Zatsune grinned, a sure sign she had seen them. Len protectively grabbed onto her, but she knew she was the stronger one, so she stepped in front of him. "How was the hospital visit with Miku, Rin? Surely she seemed a little bit crazy... wild, don't you think? I can't imagine how terrifying it must be to lose someone so significant to you... to such things... don't you agree?"

"H-how do you know? About Miku..." Rin asked. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Rui asked her, golden eyes glaring at her. "You can't help a girl's emotions... we could only help her out the best we could. We both know how painful it is to be rejected. When we found each other, it was like a dream come true. We don't care who sees us in the morning. They can think whatever they like. And quite frankly, Miku couldn't help herself. She liked you. Hell, she really liked you. I'm disappointed in you, Rin. I know you like her back, you damn sissy."

"So that means you let her borrow some of your pills!" Rin shouted. "Rui, how could you? I didn't know you'd go so far as to actually- no... you idiot... you gave her your prescription pills you never take!"

"WHAT? Rin, what kind of ignorant bastard are you? So what if I'm a little crazy- I'm not THAT insane, god damn you..." Rui harshly criticized. "I threw those pills out long ago! If you were to see my dorm, they'd be long gone. Sayonara bye bye in fact! You can't blame me for all your fears... I'm human too, you know... just because I hate taking my medicine, kiss Zatsune every morning, and live an exciting life, doesn't mean I'm entirely inhuman!"

She hated to admit it, but Rui was right.

"Then who did? Who made Miku go crazy? If it's not you, who else would do it?" Rin asked her.

A few minutes of silence... then... laughter. Cold laughter.

Even Rui turned around to stare at what had been Zatsune laughing like a lunatic. But, the laugh was not something to laugh with... It wasn't pretty, it wasn't funny, it was actually pretty dang ugly.

So ugly... Rin bit her lip in disgust.

Her crimson colored eyes fell onto her, as she cackled, a crazed grin passing by her face. It caused shivers down Rin's spine. Indeed, the spine tingling laugh, insane facial expression, and lopsided smile could only mean one thing:

Zatsune had done it. Zatsune, had overdosed Miku on medication.

And she was next.

Len, having been quiet all this time, couldn't stop Zatsune from tilting Rin's head up, and Rin gazing with a horrified expression.

"Your friends are full of lies, and your lies are full of friends. You yourself are a lie. A juicy one, so delicious. So ingenious. I could just-"

Suddenly Rui pulled her back and slapped her in the face.

"You bitch!" Rui exclaimed, slapping her over and over."You bitch, you bitch, you bitch! How could you, Zatsune? How could you-" Suddenly she was met by a pair of lips. Surprised, she pulled away, glaring at her. "You mother of a psychopath of a psychopath! Why are you so scrumptious? You make me so enticed..."

"Because you are so equally tender to my touch, so wholesome to my needs and desires?"

"Shut up you moron! You're obviously a waste of my time. You make me feel so needy, make me want more... _shut up Rui! Ah- I... okay... _Get the hell away from me, Zatsune! Quit going after my cousin! Her lips could never satisfy yours like mine can... now get back here and show me you love me!"

With that, Rui grabbed Zatsune and ran off, leaving Len and Rin speechless.

"You think Rui was defending you?" Len asked Rin.

"Ah, dunno... I don't really care at this point. All I know now, is that Zatsune had something to do with Miku's drug overdose." Rin replied. "Miku would never do such things on her own, but we both know Rui is supposed to be on psychosis drugs for some weird mental disorder and she isn't... and her normal medication would drive someone crazy and make them hallucinate, like what Miku is going through."

Rin and Len started to walk forward.

"So, your saying, that Zatsune took Rui's medicine and shoved it down Miku's throat when we weren't looking?" Len asked. "Are you sure Zatsune would even do that? I mean, I know she's a real jerk to us at times... but... somehow, it's not in her range of evil."

Their footsteps started to walk back close to their dorm.

"Precisely. But Len, don't you realize? Zatsune is the one who laughed so cruelly at my sorrow. Zatsune was the one who told our cousin to start going off her meds. Zatsune's always been so vicious, always been so actively hurting Rui. And Rui, don't even get me started on her. Rui's always been a conflicted girl. She's always so strange, in her own little world. She doesn't care if Zatsune cheats on her, she doesn't care if Zatsune takes drugs, hell, I don't even think she cares if-"

"I know, Rin... I know. But the way I view Rui is she is completely misunderstood. Zatsune is the one making all the decisions for her, she's not even thinking for herself anymore. I do agree that Zatsune makes our cousin do a lot of things she doesn't want to do, but I also think Zatsune herself has some sort of mental disorder."

Rin snorted.

"Hell, she's good at being a psychopath, I tell you. You can't make me feel sorry for either of them, no matter how much you try." Rin growled. "Anyway, I'll meet you later. I'm going to class."

Len waved goodbye.

And Rin waved too.

And somehow... just a little bit...

She felt funny.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Looking back at this chapter, I realize I've pretty much executed Rui and Zatsune's interaction like those of a anime show, when the bad guys argue and interact with the good guys. It seems a little bit random at most. I don't think this was a good chapter at all... Miku's interaction with Rin seemed random and didn't serve it's purpose well. The point to get across, is that Miku was suffering horrible delusions that came from medicine overdose. Though these delusions at first may be silly, they can easily become dangerous as she attacks Rin with her fingernails and digs into her skin. As for Rui, well... you'll find out later what she has for an issue. Surprisingly, you'll find she's not as bad as she may seem._


	7. CH 6: Unsatisfied

_Author's Note:_

_There's a hint in this chapter that starts off a big plotline. The clue I will give, is that Miku is crazy for a reason. I nominate this chapter as one of my more wordy, background information one. Sorry if I bore you to death with my histories, some of it is important to know, some of it is interesting to me, and some of it is random information. I happen to love making up background information for characters and places, such as Red Valley Boarding School._

_There's also a large time skip between a few months. This chapter could have some filler qualities, but the ending brings the story back together and ties it in with the subject. _

_Anyway, enjoy this chapter~_

* * *

**Chapter 6: **Unsatisfied

Those next few days just never seem to get better, do they? Rin felt more and more drained, more and more unhappy. More and more lonely. For some reason, it was more painful now than ever for Miku's untimely overdose, and she still couldn't help but see that Zatsune was more now than ever suspicious for her actions... and anyone else was equally avoidable.

It just didn't seem fair anymore, that Miku had to do that... and the way Gumi had said it, Miku had done it on her own... but still... with Zatsune's laugh, crooked smile and obviously evil intentions, who else could it be? Miku would never do such a thing to herself, she was a very calm, rational girl. Even if love made her irrational, why would she do such a thing to herself? She just couldn't help but realize that it seemed so unfair... for Miku to just... do that to herself.

Everyone noticed Rin was starting to deteriorate. Her once fulfilled love for sports, turned cold. She stopped going to any tennis meet, stopped going to PE class, and started to skip school far more often. Everyone seemed worried for her, and even Piko, her rival, started to acknowledge that Rin wasn't feeling good. She avoided Gumi, and started to feel lonesome... she just wanted Miku by her side, and longed for her attention again. Everyone was trying so hard to make her happier...

Rin couldn't understand these sudden urges to visit Miku in the hospital. Miku had been sedated several times to prevent a psychotic episode, so most of the time she was asleep and drenched in little else but a hospital gown. But even visiting Miku, alone none the less- never made her any happier. Even Rin's own mental health state was starting to become obsolete; she could feel herself begin to crumble. But even then, she refused to cry. Miku would have wanted her to be strong...

She hadn't seen any signs of Rui or Zatsune since she had met them by the entrance to the school, but then again- most of her days were spent indoors. It seemed so unlike her, a very outdoorsy person, to not want to get any sunshine. But the weather was colder, and it rained a lot now a days, and Halloween was just around the corner... she knew Miku loved to dress up for such a holiday, and spend time giving candy to little kids.

She had yet to know what Halloween was like here in Red Valley, but Miku had gave her the insight back when they had first met each other in a chat room online. Before hand, Rin had lived in a poor town called "Clarity," which was known for it's beautiful landscapes and outrageously good, but low-budgeted choir. She could recall how jealous Miku was when she had sent her pictures of her backyard, and just thinking about her reactions made her heart race. But Miku herself, had been more fascinated with the choir's cute uniform.

Rin herself, could vaguely remember how her middle school choir uniform used to look like. It was very adorable on her, and had musical notes all over it, while with a black collar, and a black vest over the top of the white dress. She longed for those days where nothing seemed to go wrong... nothing at all...

Miku herself, had felt bad for being a freshman in high school talking to a 8th grader who was only 13, but eventually, the two agreed to keep talking to each other. Rin remembered just how nostalgic she was about Miku's home town, Mandole had been. Those were the days... Miku's hometown was very romantic, but Miku always complained about it's cruel school system and bad teachers, which is why her parents signed her up with an invitation to Red Valley Boarding School, up in Cryptonaria.

How would Rin ever know that Cryptonaria's Red Valley Boarding School would be so out of control? Gumiya Hotaru, the dean, seemed disconnected from all other school district leaders. She wondered what about his learning style made her parents want to enroll her here, but she recalled pleading them to have her be here. Her parents, seemed far away from her, and she might even consider going back to Clarity, because it seemed a lot more peaceful there, even if there was less to offer. What was the reason for going here in the first place?

Rin thought long and hard, and the more she thought about the past, the more divided she felt from reality, and more tempted she was to go back and escape all her problems. And now, Miku being the way she is... she wondered if the calm, resourceful, and brilliant girl she had come to know, would ever return to the way she was. If she liked Miku enough to actually be with her in a relationship... would she really go back to her hometown? Can she even go back after all they've been through? No... she couldn't. She really couldn't. Because it would only hurt her, and many other people.

Even her cousin Rui would call her a coward. Rui, from Chilancho's Celeste Academy- Rui, who used to play the violin since age 6, and go around giving performances. She was so musically talented, that Rin couldn't help but feel that all the attention she was getting caused her to break down and get into the wrong crowd. Rin couldn't help but wonder if Rui had also done it because of her so called "mental health disorder." But Rin tried not to poke her nose into it too much.

She tried not to understand Rui, because it was logically impossible to understand someone who harassed her so much, and was a crazed lunatic. They were at tight corners at all times, and Rui had always seemed to despise her. After she let Zatsune into her life, she had really let it go... but before then, Rui had been crumbling, and was diagnosed with some label for a mental health disorder. Rui had been taking her medication faithfully and staying on top of things. She wasn't sure why she stopped, but she didn't care. Rui was crazy, and Rin was not. And Rin, would do nothing to help her, because she couldn't. It was her fault her life was going downhill, and she wanted nothing to do with her.

But even now, with Miku possibly being diagnosed with something similar... would she still be so closed minded of it?

There was a ring on the doorbell, before she knew it, her hand was on the door, and had been swung open. Gumi had come alone, without anyone to stop her from being here. Gumi swished her green hair around, then tilted her head sideways as if asking for permission to come in. Rin considered slamming the door in her face, but instead gestured her in, and they sat on the couch.

Surely, Miku was going to be the topic of the day. It seemed highly likely, since she hadn't talked with her in a matter of weeks, and just isolated herself and her laptop, taking a bunch of online classes.

"So... how's it been, Rin?" Gumi asked her. Conversation had never seemed more awkward. "I know you probably feel upset about Miku... and I heard you ran into your cousin on a bad day. Rui never learns, huh?"

She was really going at this, wasn't she? At this point, Rin couldn't even tell what Gumi was feeling at the time. She was probably one of those people that were great at hiding their emotions.

"It's fine. Rui's just being Rui. And Miku, I've seen her. She's turning into just as much of a lunatic as Rui is on a bad day." Rin told her. If Gumi was going to hide her emotions, why can't she too?

"Oh. Yeah, I've seen her too. She's still having the wildest hallucinations, and the doctors are always trying to calm her down. I'm not sure what type of drugs she took, or where she got them, but I feel that it won't wear off for a long time... or perhaps have already damaged her for life."

"It's just sad that she'd do that to herself, but I feel like someone else had done that to her, because it'd be so weird for her to over react that way and go for the extremes." Gumi gave her a dead eyed look, a mere simple blink, and somehow, strangely snorted.

"Miku would only do that to herself, if she had no other choice... teenagers minds are full of hormones, you know? You and I... at any point in time, can make rash decisions and regret them later. Miku had lost it. Her emotions drove her to the wall, and drove her insane. You wouldn't understand, because you've never fallen in love with a girl. It's... painful. Reality strikes you big, and you lose it all. Because I love you, and you've rejected me... it hurt so much, I couldn't take it... However, Miku had taken it harder than I have, and I happened to be the one who found her." Gumi explained.

Gumi sounded convincing, and Rin had to agree with her. But she still couldn't push the thought away.

"It still seems puzzling..." Rin told her. "But... I think about the old days. Miku had never seemed anything other than sensible, kind, and a bit clumsy. Miku should never be anything but what she was before... and now, the worst thing that can happen to anyone is happening to her. She's losing her mind..."

Gumi stayed silent. Her facial expression was unreadable, and stiff as a stone. Gumi had never seemed so cold. Gumi, had never seemed so nonchalant and emotionless. Her body seemed stiff... but it was barely noticeable. The happy, teasing, smiling and laughing Gumi, had been replaced with what appeared to be a robot, and her eyes never radiated anything. Just silence. Her best friend... was now a bucket of bolts, machinery moving in and out- breathing, walking silenter than the dead. Here she was, the girl who had a crush on her, and now not even the most coordinate eye-to-hand movements could represent that, none the less, the friendship they used to have. Her robotic stances and movement, might as well cast her off as being inhuman.

Finally, she stood up.

"I have to go." She suddenly blurted out. Something cold calculated inside her eyes; it seemed so unlike her. She could of swore she was hiding a glare behind her grimy smile, but she figured it was because she was talking about her love rival, Miku.

She then said something quite unexpected.

"Don't mind my attitude, Rin. Really... I just can't smile anymore. I can't be happy. I can only be a marionette on the strings- a prisoner to the school. You and Miku have nothing to do with it."

But before Rin could ask any questions, she left the room.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_That's it for now. __I'd like to apologize for being a day late, the site itself was having problems with it's servers and I couldn't get on it. I hope you enjoy! :)_


	8. CH 7: Asylum

_Author's Note:_

_Not much to say about this chapter, except that I hope you enjoy it. :)_

* * *

**Chapter 7: **Asylum

Halloween had arrived, but only those who were the least bit mad or entirely off their rocket would enjoy it. Those who were oblivious to the madness that was occurring, had fun... but Rin would never ever have a good time ever again, and she knew it.

Rin visited Miku once again, and this time the doctor had blamed her for her psychotic episode. Miku had been scared to death, hallucinating about witches knocking on the door and grabbing her by her ankles and taking her away. It was as if her hallucinations were getting progressively worse, not better. And Miku was no more believing she were a prince- she didn't even acknowledge her as a girlfriend. She was the witch, the one who would take her away... and for some reason, that made her irrational and mad.

The doctor himself had begun to acknowledge her best friend as being crazy enough to need help. Every medication he seemed to try, never had any impact. Rin watched day by day, as Miku struggled in her chair, and her condition worsened. It wasn't like Rui, who had only been hospitalized twice. Miku, following her unfortunate cousin's footsteps, was going to be going to a mental institution until she can be figured out.

Today however... she was at her worst. The day she was being shipped out, on Halloween day of all things, she could of sworn Miku was hallucinating so badly, she was staring right through her into thin air. She didn't call her Rin, and couldn't even acknowledge who she was anymore. Her hands and feet were literally tied to her spot, as if the hospital had nothing else they could do. Miku drastically dropped in weight, as she refused to eat. She had always been underweight to start out with, but now she was simply bony and too brittle, as if all the meat had been sucked out of her. Her eyes, that once had that undying excitement in them, were now dull and overly fatigued, and her whole body had all the moisture sucked away. It was unbearable.

All Rin wanted to do, was tell Miku it was okay... that whoever had done this to her, would pay. Zatsune... would pay. Rin didn't even care if she got in trouble, as long as Miku would be okay... if Miku were okay, she'd be okay... but she was not okay. She was not okay, and that was that. Just seeing her best friend... who had fallen in love with her... so frail and distorted... no... it was not okay... it was not okay at all!

She demanded for information, like where she was heading, what hospital she was going to, what the rehabilitation was like, who had wanted to send her there... but the doctor had been unwilling to give out any of it. Finally, Rin had enough. When the doctor had not been looking, Rin had sneaked by and stolen his notes from the mental hospital intuition. When she looked at it, this information was disclosed;

_Name: Miku Hatsune_

_Age: 16_

_Weight: 87 lbs (__At start:__ 92.4 lbs )_

_Symptoms: Hallucinations, violent moods swings, seeing objects, hearing voices. Loss of __touch with__ realit__y. _

_Notes: Will be placed in __**Red Valley Asyl**__**um**__ for further expecting __under the orders of Gumiya __Hotaru. _

And then there was a phone number down below, which she figured was either the doctor's or Mr. Hotaru himself. But still, it seemed pretty weird that Red Valley organization would own both a school and an Asylum of some sort... he had said it was just a regular mental institution... not an Asylum. Rui wasn't even ever placed into one of those... and before she lost herself, she had always told her that Asylums were the worst, because once you get locked in; you never come out. Rin herself, did not know the significance of the Asylum, other than to drive people mad. So it really confused her why Miku would be driven there... other then to be horribly experimented on. Gulp.

Somehow, she knew this was bad. Very bad. So bad- she'd never be able to sleep again. She tried to picture the story together. Miku, 12 o' clock in the morning... loses it, walks outside late at night. Zatsune sees her while in one of her drunk moments, offers her Rui's medicine to cure her pain. Miku takes it, goes crazy, runs back to her dorm and starts taking a huge amount of sleeping pills... falls unconscious, and somehow Gumi walks into her dorm and sees her seemingly dead body on the ground and takes her to the doctor. That's how she pictured it happening.

What if however, something shady is going on? What if Red Valley Boarding School really is the "Red Boarding School of Dread?" Everyone was acting so weird lately... the school itself, had always been a strange place to be. Miku especially was acting strange... well of course she was! She was the one who's going to this so called "Asylum" in the first place!

She was too afraid she'd be next, so she stayed indoors... but then her courage got to her, and told her to find Yukari and Aria and talk to them about her problems. She could trust the two with her news about Miku... they cared for her just as much as she did. So, she tip toed out of her dorm, it was about five at the afternoon, and told herself she'd make it clear to Yukari about Miku's consistent suffering and her theory.

Once she actually entered the outdoors... even the chilly weather couldn't help her. Any bird that had been there before, had migrated south... wings beating still in freedom. Bears who were nearby weren't in hibernation just yet, but Rin could care less if she got eaten, let alone killed. Since Red Valley was located so close to the forest, on the outskirts of town; she could care less if some wild animal got to her.

Really, nothing mattered anymore... Miku was probably at that Asylum, suffering big time- getting medicine after medicine shoved down her throat. For some reason, it shook her down worse than before; as if the time that Rui had gone didn't matter. She hated Rui with her manic episodes... but for some reason- she couldn't hate Miku... something about her made her unable to.

There was a feeling that had blossomed deep within her... and her heart ached far more than it should. She shouldn't still be thinking of her confession... that should be beyond her now. But somehow, it still bugged her, and lit her heart on fire all the same. Just to think... that a simple confession can destroy a person's life. That if she would have said "yes" none of this would have happened. That Miku wouldn't be hospitalized in some crazy place where she has no freedom or control of her body... did she feel pain? Of course she did!

And she never noticed Miku's suffering. Never noticed just how much Miku cared about her... how much Miku longed to run her fingers through her silky hair, kiss her while the sun goes down- none of that would ever come true. And somehow, Rin was desperate for it to happen. She would despise herself for letting it happen- but she wanted it to come true, even if she didn't have the ability to love other girls like Miku did. It pained her, everyday to see Miku so upset... she knew the only way to make her feel better, was to let it happen. To let Miku think she loved her... more than a best friend.

But she couldn't play a diligent lesbian. She was straight...

Without thinking, she had run into Piko. Piko had given her a worried glance, troubled eyes, and a grimace. Rin stepped back a bit, a lot on her mind. She was about to leave him, when he stopped her.

"Wait. Are you feeling alright?" He asked. "Cause, I haven't seen you in PE in forever, or in any sort of class."

Rin contemplated about telling him about Red Valley Asylum, but decided against it. He seemed much interested in finding out more about her situation in general. She wondered how much he knew about Miku, but knew he was Gumi's best friend, and was showing genuine concern for her other than being a usual stick-in-the-mud boy.

She decided to give in the show down about Miku.

"Miku's in the hospital..." Rin started out with. Piko gave her an alarming look, and his eyes widened. "She's being taken away."

Piko stayed silent. His eyes showed confusion, but Rin showed nothing in her eyes. He then replied;

"Daaamn. That's really strange, that girl was not crazy. I always thought she was sweet, well, other than the fact when I spilled paint over her but- she doesn't come from a line of crazy people. I always thought she was pretty normal." Piko told her. He seemed to be looking for a sign of her sorrow, but Rin refused to show anything.

"Yes, she's being put in the same place as Rui, my crazed cousin was placed in. If you knew Rui, she can barely tell her lefts from rights, among other things such as having a brain and actually using it." Rin growled. Piko seemed what, annoyed? Pfft... that seemed typical of him.

"Wait, Rui wasn't placed in a mental facility, was she? I mean, not like an Asylum or anything, right?" Piko asked. "That girl is insane... she's always hanging with that Zatsune girl... and they always seem to fight about something. She's scary too. And yet, for some reason- she's not in a mental hospital. I don't know what all the higher ups see in her, but she's so grizzly and weird, she should have been kicked out long ago. Err... no offense to your cousin, of course."

"It's fine. I don't like her either... but I guess I'm being too harsh with her. She may be a nutcase, but I once was jealous of her. She comes from a rich family, and even if I know nothing about them, I know they probably didn't accept her mental health disorder, cause they threw her into this school and hadn't talked with her since." Rin told him.

Piko's eyes seemed to droop down in heaviness. He gave a side-ward glance at her, as if wondering if she were feeling alright. Rin could do with alright, but she couldn't do with; "What were you thinking, you moron?" Like the good ol' days. Yeah.

Surprisingly, he had a lot on his mind. And they didn't involve Rui.

"So Miku is being held against her own will in some insane asylum, and she's not even insane?" Piko asked. "Pretty cheesy if you ask me. It's very fit for the reproduction of Cryponaria's 'Most violent school in history,' or if you don't like that one, the 'Red Boarding School of Dread.' If you don't know the history of the school, you obviously haven't looked through Gumi's underwear drawer. But I don't see why you would, seeing as you're straight." He giggled immaturely at the fact. Great. He was a stalker too.

No time to beat him now.

"You are feeling bad... you haven't slapped me in the face yet. Let me guess, Gumi is acting strange? Well, you can probably blame that on her father and the superintendent, Mr. Kamui." He told her. "For some reason, Mr. Hotaru and Mr. Kamui are being hard on her. She hasn't come out of her room for a while. I tried sneaking in there, but I just got yelled at. I haven't seen Sonika out either..."

"Wait, Sonika? She's Gumi's sister, right? She's the one who's attending college nearby, and drives Gumi around town. Do you think something happened to her?" Rin asked.

Piko's expression changed drastically.

"I'm not sure... I haven't seen her around, but I'm beginning to think something happened to her..." Piko told her. "She just seemingly went up and disappeared. It's not like her. Sonika is a sweet girl."

Rin was silent for a moment.

"That's why... me and Yukari are going to check out the Dusty Devil tonight. And we want you to come with. It's history is remarkable, and it's seems like it'll solve all our questions. The Dusty Devil is full of myths, and such. Some say, that the Dusty Devil is possessed by an evil white haired demon called 'Tei' who will slice your head off in your sleep and eat it. Others say, that the Dusty Devil is the hide out for people who've escaped the insane asylum." He smirked at the last thought.

"Why would I go?" Rin growled. "No, the question is: Why are you and Yukari going? I can't stop you guys from doing what you want, but damn it Piko, it's dangerous out there!"

Piko grinned.

"Are you scared, little kitty cat?" He teased.

"Shut up! I'm not scared of the place, I'm just worried what will happen to you if you go! You and Yukari both!" Rin shouted. "I could beat the living tar out of any sort of demon. At least if you go, bring baseball bats and flash lights! I think stealing some from our coach would do..."

"You think the school is much safer? After seeing what happened to Miku, you'd think you'd want to find out why all this bad luck is occurring." Piko tried to convince. "After all, we need to figure out what is driving everyone mad, and why the mad people aren't getting treated."

"Well, I was on my way to Yukari's anyway. Maybe she'll convince me to come. I mean, I know I can't hide in my room anymore like a sissy. I have to get to Yukari's." Rin told him.

"Well, if you need any 101 in Red Valley's rumored history, don't hesitate to ask." Piko offered. "I may be an ass sometimes, but it's because girls like you are so much fun to make fun of."

Rin stuck out her tongue.

"Whatever, girly-boy." Rin smiled a cheeky smile. Piko tossed her a glare. A long rumble appeared from her throat until she found herself laughing for the first time in months, just like old times. "If you need me, I'll be at Yukari's dorm."

As Rin found herself walking away from Piko, she looked back and noticed a worried expression on his face. For a feminine white haired, heterogeneous eyed boy, Piko sure acted tough... but she knew deep down inside, he wasn't all strong. He was possibly just as frightened as she was. None the less, she quickly shook it from her thoughts upon stepping on Yukari's door.

Before she had even a chance to ring the doorbell, Yukari jumped into action and opened the door, grabbing her arm and letting her in. The door slammed behind her.

Before Yukari could say a word, she shushed her.

Rin realized she had all the lights turned off, and Aria was nowhere to be seen. Yukari herself, seemed a little bit nervous. She looked around all over the room as if desiring to hide away herself.

She then relaxed herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little jumpy today. Ia's been going out a lot and hanging out with Len and Aoki, and she's leaving me behind a lot... haha." Yukari seemed a little bit on the crazy side, Rin began to notice. "I'm sorry... I don't wish to turn into someone like Miku... I'm just a little bit on my toes. You've heard me and Piko were going to the Dusty Devil, right? It was my idea. Len highly disagreed with me, as did Aria. But we're going anyway. Want to come with?"

"I can't. I've got to figure out why Miku is going to 'Red Valley Asylum' instead of a mental institution." She took a breath. "And why Miku isn't getting better, or coming here."

Yukari raised an eyebrow.

"Gumi knows more about it, but It'll be hard to get it out of her. She's so upset about Sonika, who died in a car crash." Yukari told her. "Gumi didn't even want to talk to me. She just screamed for me to go away."

"That's insane." Rin replied.

"Yeah no kidding. But I'll tell you what I know." Her eyes seemed to be wary of something. Rin couldn't tell though, but something was definitely up about her.

"My family, the Yuzuki heritage; began in so long ago, we can' t date back to it. The Utatane family, and the Hotaru family, have been here for a long time as well. Cryptonaria, as you might know, actually came from a place called Rosaria; a massive medieval village that spanned on for miles. Cryptonaria is just the town that was built over the top of it after it burned down. The legends around that city, mostly revolved around an evil scientist called 'Leon' who decided to experiment on people for immortality. He experimented on his wife, 'Lola', which turned him into a waving lunatic. He apparently then proposed a contract for the Red Valley corporation, which turned into a huge time massacre for woman and children alike, and turned anyone who was normal, into cold hearted and malicious serial killers. Some people even believed that this school origins go back to the footholds of an Asylum; which was founded in the late 1800s,

"Now, I don't believe these rumors, but everyone at Red Valley after a while, believes this boarding school has some sort of dark history, like witchcraft. But no one really knows what it is, unless they are Gumiya."

Rin's breath was sucked away. She couldn't help but wonder if part of this history were true, and how it effected the people around her. Was Yukari going to the Dusty Devil because of this history? Maybe she wanted to discover the facts. What if the Dusty Devil was some strange torment place? What if, somehow, Miku had gotten mixed with the wrong crowd and was being taken to one of their cells? What if Piko was right? What if the Dusty Devil really did have all the answers?

None the less, she couldn't help but ask;

"Does Gumiya know everything?"

Yukari sighed and shook her head.

"No. Not even Gumiya knows all about the school's history."

Rin was stunned.

Aria suddenly walked through the room holding groceries. She kissed Len goodnight, then walked over to where they were thinking. Her essence seemed a lot more happier than Yukari's, fluttering around aimlessly like a butterfly. Aria put the groceries down on the table, then swiftly met up with Yukari. Yukari gave her a short glance, and she smiled.

"Seems odd you'd have all the lights turned off, Yukari." Aria told her. "It's sort of dark in here. Were you taking a nap?"

"I'm sorry Ia, I'm just all anxious about tonight." Yukari replied. "The fact we're entering the no go territory is terrifying on it's own. Me and Piko that is... unless you want to come with, Rin?"

"Alright, you won me over, Yukari. I'll go." Rin poised a grimace. "I don't think any of us will like it, though."

"Oh. You're going to the Dusty Devil with them, huh?" Aria asked her. She frowned in disapproval. "I know it's Halloween, but don't you think you guys are being lunatics?"

"Ia, it's the only way to understand this place." Yukari urged her.

"Shut up, Yukari. I don't want you to die out there... crazy stuff happens in there! It's likely more than not, you'll get your karma driven straight back at you!" Aria yelled. "Just please, don't do this. Not with Miku in the hospital, and Sonika dead in the streets. You can't do this... it's like suicide."

"Miku's hospitality is exactly why I'm doing this." Yukari told her. "We don't know anything about where she is, or why this is being done to her, but all the answers are in there- it's our only clue."

"Fine... whatever you say, Yukari. I'm not too happy with you, no way am I happy with what you're doing. If you die, I may never see you again! You'll be a sitting rotten corpse! Tei will have ripped your head off! I can't stop you from doing what you want, but it won't mean I won't try."

"It's getting dark, and we should get ready. Meet me by the borders between the garden and the school's Dusty Devil at exactly ten o' clock." Yukari told Rin. She nodded her head. "Bring a baseball bat, flashlight, dark clothes, and an attentive mind."

Rin nodded her head, gulping as she waved goodbye to Yukari and Ia, and exited the dorm.

She wondered, almost...

Was this truly suicide?

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_This ending was sort of weak, but hopefully it's okay... hmm can Yukari or Piko be trusted? And poor Gumi's sister, shame I never mentioned her before... _

_Only one more chapter to go until Rin's part is over. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. :)_


	9. CH 8: Fruit of Life

**_Update:_**

**_Well... needless to say I totally screwed up. I wrote that pretty quickly, and my full attention wasn't on it, I was completely stressed out, plus my diet left a lot to be concerned... I may have mentioned before I was suffering health problems, but mostly due to anxiety/panic attacks. Because of it, I'm not eating very good, which causes me to wig out and say things I don't mean. _**

**_Well, I owe you guys more than just an apology, so I'll make it up to you by posting the first part of Miku's part after this... I mean, it's the least I can do for being childish. (My Skyrim geekiness was coming alive... ) Here, have an sign of failure: OTL_**

**_As for Skyrim, well... it's easily addicting... but I'll try not to let it get in the way of my writings/drawings for now. _**

**_If anyone's curious... I usually have Miku be a mage, and Rin be an assassin._**

_Author's Note:_

_The final part of Rin's part. Sorry for the delay- I've recently gotten an interest in Skyrim on the PC and using mods to make characters look like Rin (or Miku). _

_I'll still be updating... but updates may be slower than usual. (I won't be a snail though... or at least try not to... )_

* * *

**Chapter 8:** Fruit of Life

Once Rin met Yukari and Piko by the entrance, she realized they were wearing dark clothes and wielding metal baseball bats. Forgetting to bring her own, she confronted Piko about it, but he told her he could care less if she brought one, and he'll cover for her.

The Dusty Devil was close in range, and they were right next to Len's dorm. Rin had brought her own flashlight, but Yukari and Piko had wielded headlamps; making her believe they thought flashlights were outdated. Perhaps they felt the need to make room for their hands. After all, they were holding baseball bats.

Yukari and Piko seemed a little bit nervous, but for some reason: Rin couldn't stop shaking. She was a nervous wreck just fidgeting in her spot, unable to stop her legs from shifting from side to side. Yukari and Piko seemed tame compared to her, who could barely stop moving. Subconsciously she move her right hand to her face, holding it against her chest as her flashlight shined through the Dusty Devil.

Piko eyed her with confidence, and a little bit of worry. He turned to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She told him.

"Let's go then."

But as the three of them started to walk, a horrifying shriek was heard. Rin turned her head around, meeting eye to eye with her cousin. Her expression was beyond terrified; wide eyed and distorted.

Suddenly, Rin could feel herself being grabbed by the shoulders, and violently thrust forward. The impact was enough to startle her greatly, as her reflexes kicked in and she pulled away. It was so unexpected that Rin considered running. It scared the hell out of her, for sure.

She couldn't think as Rui's expression turned to anger.

"NO! You can't go with them, Rin- Demons, Devils- They're after you!" Rui screeched. "No one to trust... no one... you can't let them fool you! Please, come with me! We must escape..."

Rui sharply snatched her hand, but Rin shoved her away, taking a step back.

"Rui! Get the hell away from me you crazy loon! Leave your manic behavior to yourself!" Rin growled.

"Please, Rin- I beg of you, nothing should ever happen to you. I may be crazy, but I'm telling the truth- you can't go in there! The truth is dangerous- normal people are deceptive... everyone is a victim, and everyone is the killer!"

She grabbed onto her arm.

"Dammit Rui, let go of me! I don't care what you have to say- you crazy bi-"

"Believe me! You are the few who have been corrupted in this school of dread. Piko, Yukari, Gumi, Miku- all fakes! All liars! You'll see what I mean. Dammit, Rin- I try to save you, I'm the only one other than you who's been corrupted- but you call me names and criticize me! Maybe I should run away- without you!"

Yukari suddenly pulled Rui away from Rin. She yelled in her ear;

"That's enough Rui. Go back to your Zatsune."

Suddenly Rui began to cry.

"Zatsune... Zatsune is one of them! I dumped her- forced to- she was using me... just using me for her own good. She was going to make me one of them! She told me the truth- but she didn't tell me everything! Zatsune doesn't know everything herself..."

Rin's eyebrow went up, but none the less, Rui continued;

"Gumi was there... laughing giggling... she was alone in her room... they took her away... I saw- I saw Gumi talking to her... she was a victim... she was Miku!"

Rin's eyes widened, but then she sighed.

"I've had enough of this nonsense, Rui. Quit making up stories. Just go back on your pills already, jeez."

Rui suddenly screamed, as if being given a brutal punishment. Tears followed soon afterwords as with incoherent words once she noticed that Yukari and Piko were giving her glares. She malfunctioned greatly, and grabbed onto Yukari's hand and bit it as hard as she could, causing Yukari to scream in pain.

"Ow, OWW! DAMNIT!"

Piko rushed to her side, grabbing his metal baseball bat, but Rui dodged all his moves and reached out to Rin.

"Take my hand. Take it _now_." Rui growled. "Take it!"

Rin's heart was pounding so vividly, she was so utterly terrified at what her cousin could do, she just-

Suddenly Piko out of nowhere came with his bat and swung at her head, yelling at her to go away. Rui came crashing down, then came right back up and started to run the opposite direction they were heading. Like an animal, she screeched, then made startling crying noises. In a way, Rin felt bad for her... but she acted so inhuman at times, she hated being related to her...

Her heart was escalating rapidly. The encounter with a crazed Rui had made her heart stop, then speed up rapidly. She looked at Yukari who's finger had been bitten so hard, it left teethmarks with blood squirts. Just seeing the blood got her all anxious... maybe she wasn't equip for this trip, after all.

"Are we still going?" Rin asked. Her voice was full of fear.

"Well, my hand is bleeding with teethmarks and it hurts like hell..." Yukari told her. "And besides the fact your cousin is insane, Len and Ia don't want us to get ourselves killed, and the school will probably sue us millions of dollars for being on it's out-of-bounds turf... I'll probably have to sit out on this guys. Sorry."

"I'm sorry Yukari. My cousin is wild and unpredictable." Rin told her. "... But I won't chicken out either."

"And I'm still in the game as well." Piko told her. "You can pass the bat to Rin if you want."

Yukari reluctantly handed the bat over to Rin with her good hand. Her reluctance was surprising, but none the less, Rin took it, noticing the symbols "RV" surrounding them in red and gold letters. She then walked away, leaving her and Piko behind.

"Well... shall we get this show on the road? I'm ready when you are." Rin told him.

Piko gulped, for the first time, actually expressing fear upon dry sockets. Of course, everyone knew how nervous Rin was; Yukari's expression of extreme tartness when she left, proved her nervousness was far from vague.

"Ready when you are." He said.

They started to walk slow, counting each step- but then they broke out into a run, until they were at the entrance. Piko leaned in, wondering if it were okay. When the coast was clear, they made their way inside...

The Dusty Devil, was surely Dusty... but also meager and devoid of all living. It was almost disappointing, how empty it was... and how meaningless it seemed. With the bare minimum being a few unfurnished windows, a long array of unpainted doors, and a sinister looking dresser in front of an entry way, it seemed like a huge disappointment... until Rin saw the rug under neigh the dresser.

"Hey, I think I found something." Her voice rang. Piko's eyes lightened up to see her pull out of rug that had the initials "R.H." on the top of it.

_R.H.? What the hell does that even stand for? _Rin thought. Indeed, the colors were red and yellow which appeared to be the school colors... and the color itself seemed stained with a certain dark tint. The wooden floor beneath them, she realized; was a murky brown against a blank white ceiling.

"Seems like that dresser is blocking something. Something _big_." Piko grinned. "Care to give a hand?"

Rin nodded, helping to push the dresser away to the side. She took a look at the door, seeing it's worn existence. For some reason, bits of graffiti were across the entire door, saying not-so-nice and very naughty things. She figured it was from past adventurers and dare-devils who appeared to be sneaking around school grounds late at night. They were the ones who always got expelled, whenever they didn't just... disappear.

"Should I open it?" Rin asked, taunting herself. Piko snickered.

"Only if you don't want to be a wuss." He smirked.

Rin extended her arm out and reached for the door handle, opening it with jittery confidence.

"A... staircase." Rin whispered, more to herself than to Piko. It circled around itself, but it was more square shaped than circular. It appeared endless from the top view. The walls were made of stone as Rin found out when she pointed her flashlight on them.

Piko himself seemed ecstatic of the staircase for some reason. Or rather, he was so amazed he stared at it for a good 20 seconds before shaking his head.

"Wow... so this is the secret they've been hiding, huh?" Piko asked.

"Yeah, it's really weird that they'd have this. I mean, it looks new." Rin responded.

"Down we go?"

"Well, yeah."

As Rin and Piko descended into the forbidden area, Rin noticed all the little details about the Dusty Devil's secret basement. It was cold, for one thing. Shivering, snot-filled cold. Second, it was so eerily silent, that all she could hear was their own footsteps. Third, it sent tingles down her spine. Bad tingles. And all she could see was her own breath, what the flashlight and Piko's headlamp reflected, and feel her sweat dripping down her face like no tomorrow.

It was so much more worse than an athletic event gone wrong. Sure, she had sprang her ankle a few times in tennis... but actually going deep into some sort of confined area and trying to find answers? Horrifying! For once, she was glad she had someone by her side who she could trust, because she knew that if Piko had left her... she'd scream her head off.

Finally, they'd reach the end, and there were an array of doors awaiting them, most with no sort of information enclosed around them. One in particular stood out from all the rest; a door marked with the initials "R. V. A."

As she reached for the door, her lungs contracted into the size of a pea. Her hand twitched and shook until her hand was on the doorknob, until she suddenly pulled away. She was nervous, but knew she wasn't as bad as Rui had been. Rui would be scared half to death... but she still had an ounce of confidence in her...

"Ladies first?" Rin asked him.

"I didn't know you could be such a gentleman, Rin."

As Piko opened the door, Rin had a gut feeling to turn back and run away. But she didn't. And she wouldn't... how could she, when they had gotten so far?

But... this was even more unexpected. A long, narrow highway, and more doors. So many... doors. All labeled different things, for different subjects. Like, one was labeled "Experimentation Hallway #1" another, "Subject Sign in Sheet" and the last one at the very end was labeled "Test Subject Hallway."

And among everything else, she knew which room she wanted to go into.

"Can we go into Test Subject Hallway?" Rin asked him.

"Why? You think your damsel in distress is in there?" Piko asked her.

"Precisely, Mr. Forever Alone." Rin giggled. She didn't know how she could laugh when she felt so utterly terrified, when Piko appeared so nonchalant.

They sneaked closer to the door, hearing a sound. Rin immediately hid behind the corner, tipping her head over to see Mr. Kamui, the school's superintendent, coming out from the hall. Her mouth dropped in horror. What was he doing here?

He was heading straight for the same place she had designated herself to. The Test Subject Hallway. She could feel her nerves crawl at every rate as he shut the door behind him, and walked onward. Her heart pounded with terror as she dared herself to walk forward, but was pulled back by Piko.

"What are you, stupid? If Mr. Kamui has something to do with this, we shouldn't go in there." Piko hissed.

"But, what if Mr. Kamui knows where Miku is? We could beat the hell out of him with these baseball bats, and find her." Rin argued.

"We're not that strong." Piko disagreed. "Besides, isn't it obvious what this place is? It's obviously an underground Asylum."

They stopped when they suddenly heard a noise.

They heard crying. And laughter. Sick, maniacal laughter. Rin got shivers down her back, but decided to continue forward, entering the hallway, and looking inside the window to the room. She saw, what appeared to be a green haired girl locked in a cage draped in a school uniform, with Mr. Kamui looming over her like giant, uncomfortable shadow. Finally, her eyes gravitated towards the device in his hands. Piko saw it too, the great horror that came from electrocution. Finally, she noticed the girl's poor green eyes fluctuate in pain, and realized without a doubt, that it was none other than Gumi!

"My my, aren't you stubborn? So... imperfect. Your the heir to Gumiya, yet you always seem so... distasteful. So nice. Too nice. Child, don't you realize that the world is much bigger than you think? We are only one place. You should at least show pride in our doings."

Rin felt the urge to run in and hit him over and over again with her baseball bat, but almost dropped it instead. But yet, she still shut off her flashlight, and made sure Mr. Kamui didn't see her from the window.

"You seem so frail without any comfort. No worries child; you will only be here one night. Gumiya thinks his precious pearl needs a little bit of discipline, especially after setting our latest collection free. Tsk tsk... you really are such a fool."

Rin got a clear view of Gumi from the cell, tied up, and bit her lip to keep herself from screaming, pleading and begging that what she wasn't see was true. She watched as Gumi struggled in her spot, getting aggressive.

"Don't worry, this will only hurt a little."

Rin watched with horror as the noise came back, and Gumi was electrocuted, and screams filled the air. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she screamed Gumi's name, racing into the room, wondering, hoping, _pleading_ she was still alive.

She screamed her name instead.

"_RIN!_"

And Mr. Kamui had the biggest, sickest smile of his face.

"Oh, so we have some company, huh? Fresh meat. It's the tender freshman and her sophomoric friend. Might you have thought you've seen a bit too much? Anyone who descends this far into Red Valley Asylum deserves to become apart of it, don't you think?"

"Miku! Miku was taken here! Dammit, why? I was right... the Dusty Devil really is an evil Asylum for innocent girls like her!"

Gumi laid her eyes once more on her.

"Run." She cried. "Run. Next time we won't be friends. Everyone is in on it too. RUN! JUST DO IT! FIND MIKU!"

Rin dropped her bat and ran for it, not caring how tired she was. Her heart was on fire, her nerves were tingling worse than ever, and now; Mr. Kamui was chasing her down a long narrow highway, Piko attempted to grab her, but she punched him in the face. He attempted to knock her unconscious with the bat, but she dodged it... running straight into the darkness.

She didn't dare turn on her flashlight, no matter how much it helped her. Instead, she raced out of the hallway, racing through the other one; but Piko and Mr. Kamui were catching up to her. She considered yelling for help, but if everyone was against her, who would help her?

Rui... for once had been right! Maybe she wasn't so crazy after all! Maybe she was the crazy one... maybe she-

She raced up the many array of stairs. She was almost out... she just had to keep her pace. Just breath. No, she can't breath! She's so terrified... she can't move a muscle! Run, RUN!

Back. She was back into the Dusty Devil. Her heart was pounding. She was scared to death. She could hear the footsteps of Piko and Mr. Kamui coming after her. She raced to the door, only to find it was barricaded. Crap! Crap crap crap! There's no escaping now...

As Kamui and Piko caught up to her, she backed up against the wall. She was trapped, there were no windows, no light, just complete darkness. She could feel light begin to rub across her skin as Piko started up the stairs. Once he and Mr. Kamui had made it, she had crawled into a corner and started to cry.

Mr. Kamui smiled. And as he did, he said;

"So impure... a child like you must be vanquished."

And with a thump on the head, she fell unconscious.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Sincere sorry if any of the twists don't make sense... I consider Piko to either be confused, or pretending to be innocent (and doing a good job at it... )_

_**Update: There used to be spoilers here, but I removed them. Thank you for your time. :)**  
_


	10. CH 9: The Big, The Bad, The Ugly

_Author's Note:_

_As promised, here is Miku's first part alongside the last part of Rin's. I'm really sorry for my behavior earlier... I didn't mean to sound bad. _

_I originally had no intent to post this as early as I am. There still may be some flukes with this ( grammar errors or whatnot), but if there is, let me know and I'll fix them. :)_

_I'm also updating a fix for chapter 7, just a grammar mistake. _

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

**Part 2:** Miku's Side

_Sticks and Stones Break More than Bones_

**Chapter 9: **The Big, The Bad, The Ugly

Subways had never seemed more monotonous, so inefficient, so desolate. Just... in and out... people come by and people go. Never ending. A repeating cycle.

Miku could drown herself in people's complaints about the weather. She would drown to hear them complain about food, or stomachs hurting, or even would settle for complaints of a lousy neighbor. She would settle for all that and more... because people just don't seem to realize there is so much better reasons to be complaining, than just weather.

She couldn't escape the eerie feeling she somehow got. She couldn't help but wonder why she was escaping, and from whom; she could not recall, and somehow, her subconscious had shouted; "Mandole! Go to Mandole!" which made her seem a little iffy. Where was Mandole, and how could she get there? And even if she did make it there, would she starve first? She was so hungry...

Her words were even being pondered upon differently than most people; she noticed every detail, but could not remember much about her own pass, and barely remembered her own name. For some reason, she could not withstand the anxiety that coursed through her. Her body was telling her something and something big. It had been tampered with, she knew- and whatever it had been wasn't good.

The subway was going at a steady speed. Any moment, she'd be to the other side of Cryptonaria, where she can hitchhike to Mandole. At any rate; she didn't care if she got into the car of a raging psychopath. Somehow, she felt it wasn't any worse than being at that school... and having her emotions be played with like a fiddle playing the tune of Beethoven.

Her body felt out of control. Impulsive. She felt like her arms were made of spaghetti, and at any moment she could just snap and be gone, just like that. Her eyes were strained, and the world seemed much more blurry and unfocused than usual. Her steps were wavering bitterly like a drunkard solder at war. At any moment, she'd collapse.

And yet, despite all this... she still remembered the girl who she loved. Bitter, intoxicating sadness had taken over her... she had done something like forcing love upon her. Something worth punishment. Her name was unrecognizable... but her age remained fresh in her head. The poor girl was only 14, two years younger than her. But she was oh so cute...

They had been friends or something. She still vaguely remembered her appearance; blonde hair with a certain curl near the bottom, beautiful ocean colored eyes, olive colored skin. She had forgotten everything else, including who her parents were; but a certain part remembered that she loved this girl all too much, and never wanted to hurt her.

And then... a cold rejection and a broken heart, and falling into an abyss of heartbreak and emptiness. A piercing heart and a deadening silence. Miku couldn't recall the days and nights for several days. All that was in her mind was to escape, and escape far. She still can't recall the details of her escape, nor her will. All she remembered was the dark cage she would rot herself in for seemingly for centuries at a time. But she was being melodramatic... and that was just the poetry girl within her coming alive.

She remembered something being injected into her arm. It had seized her of everything, and she could still feel it every once in a while. Poisonous, intoxicating, and completely broken. Filled with many frightful flavors. Her arm still stung like fire would stain skin... and her eyes could not focus on her words. Her breath had drifted from her... and she had reposed. She had-

Suddenly there was a noise of a door opening. She turned her head, seeing a short young woman with a long ponytail on her side coming her way. She was wearing a detective suit. Miku didn't want to deal with her, so she simply ignored her, but the girl suddenly sat down next to her and smiled.

"Lovely weather we're having, isn't it? So... gloomy." The detective girl greeted. Miku said nothing, figuring to not talk to strange looking people. "You look chilly, hella cold. Come on, I've got a jacket for you."

Miku reluctantly took the jacket but said nothing, wearing it promptly. It hung by her shoulders.

"Not much of a talker, are you? I don't really blame you, but you should at least say thanks, it'd be polite ya know?"

"What do you want from me?" Miku asked, a little frightened.

"I want your name." She replied. "Cause you see, I'm Neru and I'm here on this case of some girl named 'Rin Kagamine.' I thought you kinda looked like her friend, so I was like 'hey yeah, you're the one I want.'"

Miku's eyes widened.

"Ah, I see those eyes. That's that crap called love. You're kinda weird, if I recall correctly. You like girls. Shame I can't remember your name..."

"Wait. I'm Miku. But what do you know about Rin? What happened to her? Is she okay? How did you manage to hunt me down all this time?"

"Oh, that. Your Rin's disappeared. She's become some 'damsel in distress.' She disappeared after she went into some old shack, yet no information has been found to support that theory. Damn girl just simply vanished, like you. Your girl was probably killed or kidnapped or something. Oh, and as for that last question, I'm just that damn smart."

"Rin's gone? Wait... Rin's disappeared? You have a lot of attitude and no heart to describe it so carelessly." Miku retorted.

"Well, if you have such an interest in it, why don't you come over to my office? We can question you for interrogation. You'd be the first person to actually do that in Red Valley."

"I don't remember anything about what happened to me, other than that I recovered from drug poisoning." Miku told her. "Besides, what police force are you from anyway?"

"Mandole Academy, of course. It's actually named after the town you lived in. Of course, there were SO many complaints about Red Valley Boarding School from parents, I just had to check it out. Jeez, people really like complaining, don't they?" The train suddenly stopped. "Ah, my rides here. Come on, let's take you to my office. It's not far; in walking distance, actually."

Miku bit her lip to stop herself from saying something and walked out with her. Mandole's police force was filled head to toe with people just like Neru: people who could care less about her. But Neru wasn't that bad of a cop, er... detective, and she certainly wasn't so bad she was hurting others intentionally. Mandole's school always had people tormenting others, and Miku could clearly see Neru being a bully in high school. She was a little bit curious what got her this job though, or if she were forced into it. Something like that.

Neru and her walked in silence for what seemed to be a long time. Miku figured she'd not wanted to be interrogated in public about this, but it wasn't like she were a criminal or anything, and she wouldn't ask questions like; "Did you kill Rin Kagamine?" or some obscure question of some sort. Heck, she probably wouldn't even ask her of her relationship with Rin... but she was probably being too sure of herself.

Finally, Neru pulled out a radio and whispered something into it. Minutes later, a car ride had come. The driver was a woman with white hair and red eyes, who Rin took as a middle aged albino. She looked older than Neru herself, but looked rather shy and reserved. She said nothing the whole time Miku and Neru had stepped into the car.

Neru sat in the front seat next to the girl, while Miku had sat in the back. The windows of the car were a near black color, and Miku couldn't see where they were heading. Once they were on the road, Neru asked;

"So what was the relationship between you and Rin, anyway?"

"Friends." Miku replied with a blush.

"What kind of friends?"

Miku sighed. "We were best friends, now we're just kinda friends or acquaintances..."

"Did you ever want more than that?" Neru asked. "Like a relationship?"

"Well, I liked her more than I should. And she never took it well at all... but what does that have to do with her disappearance?"

"Well, it's important because something triggered Rin to disappear for weeks from school supervision." Neru admitted. "It's rather simple, actually. So what did you do about this?"

"What, me?"

"Yes. Your part is a big role in figuring out the nature of the school." Neru replied.

"I don't remember."

The car stopped and Miku was led out of the car and into the station. Neru herself took her to her office, where the white haired woman followed her and opened the door, inviting them in. The two of them walked into the office and Neru invited her to sit down on the couch. She then spat out;

"Look, if you don't remember, tell me why. I'm not getting paid for this, because my damn payroll manager refuses to. I'm doing this, because I think this is so damn important. So, I ask you politely to please spit out every single word you know about this case. It's only me and Haku who will cooperate on this case. Everyone else gets turned away by cash. So, your presence is important." Neru gave her a glare. "_Very_ important."

"What Neru means to say, is that not everyone will cooperate with us. They're too scared or cowardly." The white haired girl told her. "I'm Haku Yowane, and I'm the assistant of Neru. Please don't let Neru's lively boldness scare you."

"So. Where were we? Tell me why you have amnesia, and give me proof you aren't making it up." Neru told her.

"Well, I was a victim of a drug overdose. Who, I don't know..." Miku responded.

"Do you have an idea of their appearance?" Neru asked.

"No. Maybe hair colors... I vaguely remember green..."

"Wait a minute, let me get out my yearbook." Neru opened up a school yearbook. "Gumi. Gumi Hotaru. She did this to you?"

"No, that doesn't make sense... Gumi was my best friend, it couldn't have been her. It's more likely Zatsune, who shares the same first name as me, but she's known to have black hair."

"Oh. Zatsune. She's the one who hangs out with Rin's cousin, Rui, right?"

"Right. And if I recall correctly, Rin hated Rui because she gave up a normal life to hang with Zatsune." Miku replied.

"Ah, I see. So Rin really hated Rui, right? Hell, she must have really hated her. Well, let me tell you something you might need to know. Rui hijacked a car last Thursday, and she's still escaping the police. Heck, no one's searching for her. But, Rui managed to get herself in trouble before, and she was found out to be diagnosed with some sort of degree of Bipolar disorder. You'll probably guess what I'll be saying next, huh? Well it's this: Find her, and bring her back to me, I'm tired of searching too. We need to put that girl through rehab."

"That's actually not surprising. If I recall correctly, Rui refuses to take her medicine and go through therapy."

"Well, find her. Here's a free bus and subway pass. Wear it around your neck and hide it under your coat. You're meals will be payed for if you go to specific diners listed on this card, and we'll supply you with not-so-suspicious clothes from target and goodwill. Have fun." Neru handed her the materials, then folded her arms. "If you can get that crazy girl over here for questioning, we can get her safely administrated into a faraway hospital."

Miku nodded her head and turned around, then realized something. She then asked;

"Why aren't you sending me back to my parents?"

Neru sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Don't you know? You're parents are dead."

Miku opened her mouth wide to ask more questions, but then Neru shoved her out the door and locked it. Tears started to come out of her eyes, and she started to shake.

"My parents? Dead?"

She still could not believe it, but the journey ahead of her was crucial.


	11. CH 10: Emotionless and Driven

_Author's Notes:_

_General warning for the next few chapters. I warned that there was general insanity in this as well as drug references, and Miku starts to show signs of this occurring. I should warn, it's really hard to write an insane person without dwelling deep into their thoughts, so please let me know if things get a little "out of hand" _

_This is just the beginning... so if this needs an M rating in the future, let me know. _

_The horror element might completely overtake this part of the story. it depends how the person who reads this sees this. But the story isn't all horror. It will share other elements that pop up in later chapters. If I go overboard like I did in my other story, let me know. _

_Anyway... enjoy this chapter. :)_

* * *

**Chapter 10:** Emotionless and Driven

Words had settled her roaring thoughts to a brink. She didn't know how she did it... but she dozed off in the warm comfortable chair of an express train. The TV above her calmed her thoughts... it droned on and on about some history movie someone played from next door, describing the war between two countries and the type of ruling sequence they followed. Miku could care less about the history of the histrionic country they lived in, but in old times had concentrated her dire needs to the average, dull and insignificant history book.

Apparently, their region was a tiny country with a large profit and made a large share of money for their small size by vicious and brutal armies. Cryptonaria happened to be the capital of the country, and there was a ton of little cities amongst it, like Mandole, Clarity, and Chilancho. The government ran by it actually came from the proceedings of one person who went by the shady title of Master.

People never really could guess what "Master" was ever up to. The history behind it was, they before then had a decent government, but then one person alone came and overthrew them over, calling them liars. His name was never mentioned in the history books, so they had just referred to him as "Master Uva." Miku seemed to pay attention enough in history class, to get that Uva conflicted with the Utaulites and wanted to overthrow them. Beyond harsh conditions, the Vocalites and the Utaulites went into war. Uva destroyed the other nation, and then enslaved the Utaulites.

Today, the Utaulites are friendly, and are many more then the Vocalites, intermingling with the economy and sharing profits with them. They were wide spread across the land of Vocaloid, which meant that even in her school, some Utaulites go to school with her. The Utaulites were different sounding then the Vocalites and came from a country on the other side of the ocean. The location of Vocaloid itself was a small isolated island far north of Conchita bay.

The history video resounded in her head as she napped. Such information continued in through one ear and out the other, until it was switched to the news and she heard of some murder that came from the town of Clarity. She didn't really pay attention, and continued dozing off. It was impractical to stay awake.

Rin of course, was one thing that stayed in her mind for quite a while. In the back of her mind, she worried for her, and dreamed about her. When she fell asleep, she dreamed she was on a rocking boat, and the waters were over rising and taking both her and Rin alive. She didn't wake up. Then she dreamed that she confessed her love to Rin, and Rin said yes, and then Rin stabbed her in the back. She woke up sweating, and then realizing she wasn't even half way to Cryptonaria and grunted.

She decided to get a drink from the food stand. She sluggishly made her way to the food stand, but bumped into a pale, black haired woman wearing sunglasses.

The girl with sunglasses took them off, flashing beautiful extremely dark brown eyes. Her smile was uncanny, and drove nerves through Miku's skin as she gestured Miku forward.

It was then that Miku got a clear shot at her tattoo and faltered, stepping backward. The girl whispered for her to follow her, slipping a 100 dollar bill in her pocket. Miku's eyes widened, but none the less, couldn't refuse.

The girl slipped back on her sunglasses and lead her through the sections of the train, where she opened a door to an out of bounds territory and stepped in, gesturing her to follow. Miku reluctantly did.

She shut the door behind her, and Miku gulped.

"I'm Mew." The girl started. "And my point of bringing you here, is because of your state."

"Why was I lead here?" Miku asked. Mew smirked.

"Because of privacy of course. You and I have a lot to discuss about, Ms. Hatsune." Mew told her.

Miku paused.

"If this is some sort of kidnapping plan, it's not gonna happen." Miku told her. Mew sighed.

"You want to know where Rin is held, don't you?" She asked.

Miku stopped cold and faced towards her.

"Do you know?" She asked eagerly. Mew chuckled.

"I'm not authorized to tell you that." Mew told her. "But I will tell you this. You, my friend, won't be living for much longer. The virus Pseudoaeternum I resides within you and is currently attacking your system. You will be dead within the next 45 days, and insane in a matter of days, if you don't come with me and find the cure."

Miku's eyes widened.

"H-how do you know that's true?" Miku asked her. "I was insane not too long ago, but I got injected with something. I think that was the cure."

Mew laughed, and Miku realized she was being serious about this.

"Your trip to the doctor was unneeded. One of your classmates drugged you full of psychotic pills, which to an insane person would help relieve their symptoms, but to you would destroy your brain chemistry and make you insane. You see, someone like Rin's cousin needs these pills to resolve her abnormal brain patterns. You don't need anything like that, because you're not crazy. Yet. But someone like Rui, needs to be on those pills to survive the rest of her days, and she's not. She's been born with a mental disability, so she was born crazy. She'll die crazy. You, don't need to have that, but if you remain wandering on the streets, you will turn into someone _worse_ than Rui. You'll turn into a psychopath."

"So you're saying I'll become a psychopath if I don't come with you?" Miku asked. She huffed. "What an unlikely story. I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"Ah, yes. That's what victims of the Red Hand say." Mew countered. "But you must realize that you have been a victim of a terrible, terrible crime. Drugged, brought to a pseudo hospital, put in a cage, injected with a virus. Face it: You're going to die soon, Miku. Come with me. I'll cure you. I'll prevent you from ruining your life."

Suddenly, Miku's adrenaline rose. She backed up against the door, trying to escape. The room was small, much too small to escape easily from. An icy feeling crept up her spine, and then flashes of hot and cold flew across her face. Her vision blacked out for only a moment, and refocused.

Mew had leaned forward and grabbed her arm, but Miku pulled away. Her thoughts were beginning to scramble, and her brain began to puff out steam as she attempted to open the door and flee.

_Go go go!_ Her thoughts rang. She darted out of the room and raced into the other as the girl chased after her. She sprinted the opposite direction, tossing aside objects, looking behind her to see the girl racing after her. People yelled at her, but she had no time to intervene. She only had time to run.

The train was to a near stopping point. She looked out the window briefly and saw Cryptonaria's train station. Everyone got up and moved around. She tried to blend into the crowd, but paced herself. Mew was still looking for her by the entrance. Unsettling tears were at the brink of appearing. Her heart would not stop pounding. She wanted to scream, but would not allow herself to. The train was almost to a slow crawl.

It stopped. And Miku hurriedly made it to the entrance. She jumped off, seeing Mew only a few feet behind her. She ran, but Mew was faster. Mew pulled out something that looked like a gun and aimed it at her. She panicked, but didn't drop her pace- she was too out of breath to scream. She en-haled in and out like a balloon, and started to shake. Mew started to catch on to her, as she struggled to stay ahead.

She dodged bullets that hit the windshield of the car she hid behind. She was so terrified she could barely breath. She could hear the screams of the people around her. They mimicked her own. She started to panic. Oh crap oh crap- she's going to die! There- a car without it's driver, keys still in tacked! Get it!

She jumped into the car and turned on the accelerator. Mew was getting closer and closer and oh god! The car sprang to life. A bullet hit the windshield, and left a big crack in it, but it hit the passenger's side. Mew was right on her tail. And a startling thought hit her.

_**Kill her. **_

Without thinking, Miku obeyed the command, putting the car in reverse and attempting to run her over. Mew jumped onto the car before she had a chance, and Miku floored it, and drove out of the parking lot trying to shake her off. Something within her made her laugh, as Mew struggled to stay on top of the car.

Miku went faster and faster, and she swerved her first corner as the car's wheels turned to it's edge. Her head turned to a noise, as Mew jumped straight into the car and attempted to slam her foot in Miku's face.. Miku's instinct's came to kick her away as Mew tried to take the wheel, battling for control. The car teetered uncontrollably, going different directions. Miku smirked as she tugged onto her hair and pulled her back, and Mew hit her head against the windshield. Mew in return, opened the door and attempted to push Miku out of it.

Miku's reflexes kicked in, and she forced Mew out of the car door and onto the cement. Mew's gun fell out of the car. Mew huffed and pulled out a knife and attempted to penetrate her skin with it. She caught a grasp of Miku's chest and punctured it, before Miku kicked her in the shin. Mew barely hung onto the car, before letting go on purpose and rolling in the streets. With no one to steer the car, the car started tumbling downhill, and slammed straight into a tree.

With only an ounce of sanity left in her, Miku jumped out of the car and tumbled straight into a bush. She started sprinting upon hearing a sizzling noise. The car exploded. The impact was enough to push her back a few feet, and she fell into the concrete.

Needless to say, an unconscious Mew was on the ground. The knife was still in her hand, and her blood was still strong. Somehow, the voice in her head demanded her to stab her, but she willed against it as she grabbed the knife and raced away. She was probably already dead anyway.

She didn't know if the police force would come. But she ran anyway, looking for any dark corners to hide in. She wondered if she should look for Rui like Neru wanted, but decided against it. For now, she needed a hotel to stay in, and with Mew's 100 dollars, she could probably get herself a room.

She continued walking. Cryptonaria was a big city, and it required a lot of walking to find a hotel. She sighed. The blood lust that had been within her was now gone, and she could only focus on Rin. Still... such things scared her. Had what Mew said been right? That she had been infected with a virus that would change her brain patterns and kill her in 45 days? Sure, she needed to find Rin... but what if she can't find the cure to this virus before it takes over her heart? She wondered if the virus was what had told her to "kill" someone, but decided against it. Besides, it wasn't like she had rabies. This Pseudoaeternum I or whatever it's called, couldn't kill her so suddenly, right? Still, she was afraid of what potential she had with murder...

Somehow, she didn't care that Mew was dying on the streets. Usually, as she recalled: something like that would make her cry. In fact, she was crying for a little, inside. But then... when that voice had told her to just... end her life... she felt like she didn't really care at all- as if something in her had snapped. Even Rin didn't matter when that voice had told her to kill. It wasn't her voice that had told her to kill... it sounded a little bit like an emotionless version of her voice, except it was so different it was hardly even hers, none the less: human. It scared her at one moment, and she didn't care about it the next.

The streets were empty. It was getting late. Pretty soon, scary people would come out. Someone might try to harm her, if she didn't go to a hotel. She'd-

_**If they hurt you, just stab them with your knife. **_

Miku gulped. She didn't like the idea of hurting anyone. But none the less, if she couldn't control herself, she knew she'd obey this voice in her head...

_**Just stab them. No one will know. Everyone is garbage.**_

Miku sighed. She had long ago put the knife in her pocket on her fulfilled blood lust quest. She didn't plan to take it out again for quite a while, and refused to listen to such thoughts in her head, especially if they appeared at a whim.

She realized she was close to a market way, and decided to start walking forward. She was still bleeding from the cut, but not much was coming out. She lightly put her fingers on the slash, drawing back blood. It was sticky and it stuck to her hand like glue, but she knew it wasn't bad enough to be worried about. The line across her upper chest area stung, but Mew hadn't cut her deep enough to send her to the hospital. Normally she'd be a lot more panicked about seeing blood, but she could care less after having bullets fly inches away from her head.

The market place was in distance. People were scattered everywhere, and Miku could swear there were millions of them. Beyond them, Miku caught a distant view of a girl who looked a lot like Rui, wandering alone, but the girl was much smaller and had pigtails in her hair, and her eyes were a muddled brown instead of Rui's golden yellow. The girl looked lost and afraid, and somehow, Miku wanted to help her.

She silently crept through the crowd, trying to reach her. The girl was trying hard to search for someone. Miku covered her chest area by buttoning up her jacket she had gotten from Neru, and smiled, once in view of the girl.

"Hello, are you lost?" Miku asked. The girl looked up at her with a frown. She must of thought that Miku's messy, dirty hair made her look like a bum, but she was homeless now... so...

"I'm looking for my parents." The girl replied. "They went away after the parade started. The went that direction." She pointed straight ahead. "Will you help me find them?"

Miku smiled, and nodded her head.

"Certainly." Miku told her. "Here, take my hand so we won't lose each other."

The young child took her hand.

"My name is Yuki Kaai." The young child spoke. "Mommy never liked her last name, so she changed it. I have a brother named Rei."

Miku paused for a minute.

"Don't you have a sister too?" She asked.

"Yes... but we don't talk about her. Mommy says that she's dangerous." Yuki seemed a little bit nervous. "I don't like talking about her..."

"What's her name?"

"I think it started with an R.. she's so scary... Momma couldn't stop her from hitting people. She got mad a lot. She didn't like me very much... I don't know why. R..R...Ru...Rui. Rui Kagene. I think that's her name."

Miku paused. Rui Kagene was Rin's cousin. How could this innocent little child be related to her? Sisters? She recalled Rui having a brother named Rei, but he seemed fairly detached from the Boarding School. Rei and Rin were on good circumstances, but hardly saw each other, and somehow, Rei only went to visit Rin instead of his sister. He and his parents lived in the closest town to Cryptonaria, which was Chilancho. She hadn't even heard of another sister until now.

None the less, she'd help Yuki out.

"What do your parents look like?" Miku asked.

"My mommy wears a lot of dresses with flowers on it. Her hair is black, and her eyes are yellow. She has very pale skin. My dad has really super dark brown hair, likes wearing hats. He likes dressing up in fancy suits and his skin tone is normal." Yuki told her.

Miku scanned the crowd as she walked. She witnessed many people wearing suits or dresses with black or dark brunette colored hair, but no one fit Yuki's description. She wondered if she could take Yuki to the police, but they might recognize her as Mew's murderer, and take her to jail. Well, to be fair... she wasn't sure if she had killed her.

Finally, after walking around the festival a couple times, two worried parents and a teen walked up to her. Rei's eyes shot up and he took a glance at the dirty, smelly sixteen year old, and gasped.

"Miku? Is that you?" He asked. Miku took a deep breath. She'd only known Rei through Rin, and not very well.

"Yes." She sighed. What else could she possibly say?

"Thanks for finding my sister. I'm sure Yuki appreciates it too, right Yuki?" He asked.

"Yeah! I'm so happy I found you again big brother!" Yuki smiled.

The parents, seemed just as happy as well, but very concerned.

"Rei, you know this girl?" The mother asked.

"Yeah. She goes to Red Valley. She's Rin's best friend I believe." Rei told her.

"What is she doing way out here at this time? Shouldn't she be in school?" Mrs. Kaai asked.

Miku bit her tongue. Time for an excuse.

"Actually... I dropped out. It got too hard for me." Miku told her. "You see, my parents... they kinda just disappeared on me, so now I'm basically homeless. I have no where to live."

"So you've been wandering around town? Dear lord, you reek. Whatever you did, it obviously wasn't very lady like." Mrs. Kaai plugged her nose and Yuki giggled.

Miku stiffened.

"How about you head back with us to our house and wash up?" Rei asked her. "I'm really sorry about your parents, I know how hard it is to lose someone important to you, even if they are alive."

_Is he talking about Rui?_ Miku wondered. She shook her head.

"I'd really like that, if your parents are okay with it." Miku told him.

"Absolutely no-"

"Sure." Mr. Kaai agreed. It was the first word he'd said in this entire conversation. "We'll even take you in until we can find a suitable home for you."

Rei's mother opened her mouth to disagree, but Rei's father interrupted her.

"Don't worry. It'll be like taking in another daughter. If Rei knows her, she won't be troublesome. If she's Rin's best friend, well, maybe she'll know why Rin hasn't been answering her cell. She's only been homeless for a short time, and she helped Yuki find us." Mr. Kaai bargained.

"I guess you're right. I'm just a little wary of that odor that comes from her, but if Rei knows who she is, then I guess it's fine." Mrs. Kaai agreed.

"Mom, it'll be fine. I know Miku. She'd never hurt a fly." Rei assured. Miku tensed up even more but stayed silent.

"Let's go then. I barely have room in the car. If anyone's hungry, we can stop by and get something to eat." Mr. Kaai said.

Miku's stomach rumbled at the thought as they loaded up in the car, and she realized how empty she felt.

She knew that the more she'd waste time, the more likely Rin was to suffer, and the more likely the virus was going to make her snap. But even then, her needs were more important.

It seemed selfish of her to put herself first, but none the less, she got in.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_I just realized this chapter is slightly unrealistic. OTL Oh well. _

_I need to eat better OTL. I should also fix up my sleeping schedule... it's really messed up. :P I've been playing Skyrim as well, Rin's a level 13 now. :3 I play her way more than Miku actually. xD ;w;_

_I'm still incredibly anxious. I wish I would get better sooner... :(_

_Well, anyway... I'm kinda curious to know how that action scene went. Was it enjoyable? What do I need to work on it? If you have answers, please let me know! 83_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	12. CH 11: Being

_Author's Note:_

_Greetings and salutations. Do you want to hear the good and bad news? Unfortunately, I'm going on a camping trip for a whole week, and won't have internet connection. Phooey. :P But the upside is, I'm bringing my mom's laptop, and will be putting my story and it's planning on there. I hope to get a chance to fix up the plannings and then work on chapter 16 on the trip..._

_I'm not doing fine at all. Can you tell? I've been so anxious... starving... hot... tired... depressed... so much more then on a regular basis. I've been trying to feel better, but nothings been working... and I've got such a headache... D: I'm going to the doctors next week, but I fear it'll already be too late, and I'll be dead. Ah, irrational thoughts... why must you haunt me so? I know I've not been eating much... I know I have no appetite._

_Well, enough about my condition. I don't want to scare you away. I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter, just as much as I hope everything will return to normal for me soon... _

* * *

**Chapter 11:** Being

After hours of unnecessary driving, they managed to pull out into the gates of a home heaven would want. Big tall walls spanning onward until they stopped at the brink of a forest, thickly coated with marble, and being held up by strong willed columns. Gigantic gargoyles hung amongst the top, eyeing bystanders and Miku looked closely and found the eyes of the gargoyle sparkled with red jewels.

They drove down a pathway and parked in what appeared to be a huge parking area, and beyond that was a luscious green forest, surrounding the whole mansion. Miku had no idea Rui's mother or father owned so much money, or came from such a well-to-do family, and someone this rich would usually reject someone as poor as her.

She thanked Rei for that one.

After admiring the view so much, Miku got out of their car. Now that she looked closer to it, it seemed like a well polished, well working car. Since Miku didn't know car brands that well, she didn't know what it was, but it seemed like an upper-class vehicle that was unrecognizable to her. Some Chevrolet brand or something.

Flowers lined the walls of the entry way, exotic sculptures of animals and more gargoyles followed soon afterward, until they had reached the front with two big gaping doors of a Victorian style layout. Eventually she was led inside, and the home was filled with bundles upon bundles of decoration, lovely pictures of art from different time periods, possibly extremely expensive. It made her insanely jealous to know, that Rui had once lived a prosperous lifestyle, a dream home. To force someone out of such a lifestyle, and into a normal lifestyle, seemed cruel.

Did her parents kick her out because of their snooty and crinkle nosed attitudes? Her behavior must have been disturbing enough to require them to kick her out. Maybe they disliked her behavior, didn't enjoy her random episodes, or she was too much of a burden to have...

"Did you know today is the start of winter?" Mrs. Kaai suddenly asked Miku.

"Ah, that's right... the weather forecast says it'll snow tomorrow." Mr. Kaai interrupted. "I suspect you didn't find yourself some winter outfits, Miku. I think you'll find our attire most suitable."

Miku stayed silent as Mr. Kaai walked to the closet. Miku took a peek herself, spotting a sparkling dark velvet coat with a collage of blue roses amongst it, a sparkly gold top, and blue slacks. In the closet, she also spotted a beautiful violin, rimmed with intricate designs. The violin had the initials "RK" carved into it.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kaai." Miku asked, tugging on the clothes. "Who do these belong to?"

Mr. Kaai paused.

"It's not important, but she was one of the greatest violinist in history, and she was my girl. I know she'll never come back... but she used to be quite lady like, polite, and kind." Miku raised an eyebrow. "You might know her, but she's so untamed, it's a disgrace for such a beautiful young woman to have such an abrupt attitude."

"Are you talking about Rui? She's still alive you know. She went to my school before I quit." Miku told him. He sighed.

"Don't speak of that devil girl." Mr. Kaai told her. "She was our little angel until she turned 13. We shipped her away to Red Valley to civilize her, but it just made it worse. Two years later, and she's still not cured. We're trying to forget about her. I don't want her to return here, and neither does her mother. Don't bring it up again."

"So these are all her clothes then, right?" Miku asked.

"Yes. She left behind many of her clothes once we gave a bank account to her and deposited money for the Boarding School. The weather over there in Cryptonaria is much more neutral than here, where we have all four seasons." Mr. Kaai told her.

"Oh... okay then." Miku told him. "I'll be taking a shower if you don't mind."

"Good. You don't smell delightful." He explained.

Miku nodded her head as she headed for the shower room. She took everything off only to find her upper chest area and neck area covered with blood and stuck to her clothes. She yanked the shirt until some of her skin peeled off and re-exposed the wound. She cried out as blood dripped onto the ground, clutching her heart. The pain was so much, it was unbearable, and she clenched her teeth in distress. How could she stand this? It hurt so much!

She hopped in, turning on the water and letting it wash her troubles. She figured the shower would help with her wound and cleanse her pain of Mew's attack on her body. She was lucky the attack hadn't been worse, or hit her heart. She would have died within hours... but she's going to die anyway, so why does it matter?

Blood turned the water red as the wound washed away. She scrubbed herself with soap at least 3 times trying to rid of the pain and rinsed so much the pain became unbearable. The blood ran through the water and turned it a murky red. If anyone were to see this pool of blood, she was sure they'd scream. She forced herself to keep calm and tried not to. But whimpering in pain was what she did, as the pain was so intense and_ strong _that she couldn't stand it. She closed her eyes, wondering what her fate was.

As she stepped out into the shower, she almost collapsed into the wall and felt light headed. But the drips of blood made her clean up the mess with a soaking towel, and turn it red. She hid it in the back cupboard because of the now tinted red color.

Lastly, she looked through the cupboard to find something to cover her wound and help it heal. She found some medicine, a bandage wrap, and disinfectants. Lightly, she used it all, and wrapped herself with the bandage to secure her wound. Somehow, it was very convenient that her mother had been a nurse.

By the time she put her clothes back on, she felt much better, and with a relieved sigh, stepped out of the door. She had made sure that there was no blood, no spills of red anywhere to distraught any parent, hers or not. But somehow, she couldn't help but feel she had lost a fair amount of blood.

Mrs. Kaai came up to her afterwords.

"Time for bed. You smell much better, I really am glad to see you took a shower like I asked. You can borrow these pajamas I found in the closet. Yuki's already asleep, and Rei is reading a book. I'll show you your room." Mrs. Kaai politely gestured her to her room. "If you need any help, ring a bell, okay?"

"Okay." Miku nodded.

Mrs. Kaai shut the door, and Miku took a look around her surroundings. It looked like an ordinary room with a bed and a dresser, but there also was some miscellaneous junk lined up across the room. Old photos Miku was too tired to look at, and a dusty old teetery desk.

Miku decided it was a long day, so she decided to climb into bed and close her eyes. Somehow, her thoughts lingered back to Rin, but then to Rui. She thought back to the arguments that went on between the two in the beginning of Rin's first year at the school. Rui was actually older than her, by a year, Miku realized. And that seemed to cause Rin to believe Rui was trying to be better than her. Rui had been there at Red Valley for two whole years, and was a sophomore at the time of her unfortunate fall.

Rin herself, had done little more than criticize her and plague her with hatred. Everyone seemed to hate Rui. But Miku wondered if she were really all that bad as Rin said she was...

And Rin... where was she? Surely, she's still at that school? Miku didn't want to go back and rescue her, she'd be taken out of there herself. Green hair... had saved her. But whom, she didn't understand. Were they even alive?

Miku batted her eyelashes. She felt so tired, her entire body sunk deep into the bed. She couldn't move a muscle, even if she wanted to, and felt drained because of the blood. She closed her eyes and drifted away onto a cloud of dreams and desires.

Somehow, it hurt to be in love.


	13. CH 12: Greetings and Salutations

_Author's Note: _

_Here's chapter 12. This one is probably not one of my best... a little fillerish. There is some development, but most of it lies in description and not in actual words. It's meant to be another "time segment" chapter. Sorry if I ruin the story from here on out..._

_I'm still not doing too hot. I wish I could get better. I'm depressed right now, for no good reason... silly me. :P On top of that, I'm not making the best decisions right now, or saying the best words... so sorry if I sound awkward._

_I'm just really concerned for my own mental health right now. OTL I hope you enjoy. _

* * *

**Chapter 12:** Greetings and Salutations

"Get to work." Rui's father told her, handing her the mop. Miku grunted as she was forcefully handed the kitchen utensil and forced to sweep the floors clean until they were spotless. Breakfast had been delicious, as the household cook had prepared, but such things caused her to have a further appetite for lunch.

"Am I done yet?" Miku asked. Rui's parents had set aside a promise to pay for her, as long as she worked hard. But Miku was fairly lazy, and would rather be payed for her poetry than her cleaning skills. Mrs. and Mr. Kaai were fairly strict about keeping the place spotless, to the point of where they were neat freaks.

"Your not done until you finish the job." Mrs. Kaai's voice rang. Miku grunted, but none the less listened as she polished up the rest of the floor. "If you don't like cleaning, you can move out of here. You need to learn some sort of responsibility, as dropping out of school is a huge element of disapproval in this household."

Miku grunted at the fact, but said nothing.

She continued to scrub the floors until she was sure they were clean and the Kaai family was satisfied. Then, in her free time she hanged out with Rei, like usual.

Rei, she had quickly began to notice... spent his time reading books a lot. Sometimes, they were history books. Other times; they were story books about characters in a deep situation. And even then, the 15 year old was caught reading psychology books, to the annoyance of his parents. Whatever the fact, Rei would always stay in his room and lock the door.

She never knew what else he did in there...

By then, everything had become fairly typical and boring of the household. Cook, clean, and hang out with Rei, help Yuki with homework, think about Rui. Get cash from Rui's mother, hide it, walk around the mansion. It was all so... boring. For a great mansion with lots to do, there was nothing to interest her. And weeks passed by. And she could feel herself begin to slip away, slowly...

Rui, Rin, Yukari, Ia, Piko- everyone disappeared from her mind. All she could focus on was cleaning the house, scrubbing the floors, dusting the expensive vases, getting payed 50 dollars by Rui's mother at the end of the day, and her slowly dissipating mind. Somehow, her conscious was squeezing the life out of her, so sometimes she got rid of it. Voices would tell her to do bad things, but she pulled back for the sake of Rei and Yuki.

The voices in her heads come and go. She didn't think she had schizophrenia or anything, cause she didn't get weird hallucinations. She knew the voices in her head were simply there to taunt her, and that they were just her own voice multiplied and turned into a guy. But even then, with that conscious, they wouldn't go away. And so, sometimes, she would sneak out of the mansion at night in a warm jacket and go into the woods, where she'd run around and scream as loud as she could. She would allow herself to lose her head and disrupt nature. She cried and screamed and cried some more, and the voices beckoned her to kill the Kaai household, light it on fire, do anything to satisfy the growing urges within her. And even then, the next day; she was fine.

It seemed dangerous. But she really, really was fine. Really.

When she had time, she would always look around the rooms of the mansions to ease her curiosity. Every room had a specific reason for being there, and she wanted to know what every room had in it. One day, she stumbled upon a door that was open. She got a little bit curious. So, she took a peek inside.

Textbooks lingered alongside the many shelves that lined against the wall in this room. Miku knew they were old, but how old she couldn't tell. They looked like they had collected dust. Miku slowly inched into the room, and blew on the dust particles, causing her to cough. Then she realized it wasn't all textbooks- but there were middle school annuals and information booklets as well as personal journals.

She paused, wondering if the information before her was safe to discover. She wondered if some horrible secret wasn't inside of these books, if it was as if she was never meant to look through them. She took one of the books off the shelf and lightly fluctuated her finger alongside the text of a middle school annual, looking for any signs of Rui. Quickly she spotted Rui in the top left corner of the book, next to her brother. She was wearing a frown.

Everyone else had a big large grin on their faces, and her even her brother a mild smile. But Rui's smile was so little, it may as well have not be there. The poor 13 year old's smile was so small, so slight, so belittled, she looked like she wanted to disappear.

Miku softly put aside the photo album, but even so, a note fell out.

_Sunshine, _It read. _Where is my sunshine? Ah, darkness. Why are you here to stay? The reader won't be satisfied. I won't be satisfied. My heart thirsts for more. I'm going insane. Watch me. No- don't...oh god... why?_

_The pain is intolerable. I have a violin recital tomorrow, and I'm required to perform in front of a bunch of idiotic, moronic people. Everyone... so cold. All criticism. No love... _

_Rin hates me. She yelled at me over the phone and called me a slut. She hates me, she hates me she hates me... why can't she admire me, and look up to me like I looked up to her? Her best friend Miku is cute... but she's probably just as vicious. She hates me... why can't she love me like a cousin should? She's a bitch!_

_We used to be so... close. And then she moved, all the way to Clarity, and now treats me like crap. Maybe, even she has realized something is dearly the matter with me. Ah hell with it!_

_I feel... so cold. Rin never really had any friends here in Chilancho because of me... I can't help but wonder if it's all my fault for existing and that's why she hates me so much? Yes... maybe I should just... disappear from this world. It'd make everything so much better. _

_If only I could disappear._

She flipped it to the back and her eyes widened.

_KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME..._

_DIE DAMN YOU_

_JUST DISAPPEAR... DIE... DIE... DIE!_

_She goes through all my stuff, when she sees this oh god..._

_Doesn't matter Rui, you're a dead man. Er... girl. _

_DIE ALREADY, SCUM!_

Miku's eyes went up in shock. It had been ages since she'd even consider thinking about Rui, but somehow her mind wanted her to think about her. She'd been a robot to her own; serving her master, who had been Rui's parents all this time. And yet, something haunted her, deep inside.

Rui... suffered. Like her. They both... suffered.

She eyed the letter even more until she heard a tap on the window. Glancing over, she spotted a very familiar girl with midnight black hair and golden yellow eyes, with an unreadable expression on her face, staring straight at her.

Speak of the devil.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_Sorry if this chapter's kinda boring. It was meant to be a "Time flies and Miku's problem gets worse." type chapter. Possibly filler, but it does develop as Miku shows signs of what Mew had told her. _


	14. CH 13: Stripping Freewill

_Author's Note: _

_Here's chapter 13 like promised.~ _

_I'm really sorry for my absence. if you check my deviant art (link to my cover gallery is on my profile) And click on profile in the top left corner, you'll find my journal entry on the right side regarding my state. I'll try not to let it get in the way of this story, but it's hard not to think about sometimes... _

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter~ it was fun to write._

* * *

**Chapter 1****3****:** Stripping Freewill

Miku first reaction was to gasp. Rui was fully viewable now, a complete mess. Her hair was ratted and torn, and her eyes were filled with venom, ready to strike. But strangely enough, she didn't appear to be glaring out of hatred, but rather a more sophisticated "what the hell are you doing" look. From what Miku had heard of Rui, she appeared to share a rather rocky relationship with her parents, but it seemed obscene she'd even bother to attempt to come back. It just seemed like her parents didn't want her here.

Needless to say, the head that had appeared popped back down with an opening door. Miku herself had turned around and found herself face to face with Rei.

"Can I talk with you for a second?" He asked. Miku nodded her head.

She probably wouldn't tell him about Rui, and had to keep her eye away from the window. But none the less, she was curious what he had to say.

"Why'd you bother to ask about Rui? I mean, don't you understand that it's forbidden to talk about her under this roof?" He asked.

"I didn't know she was unwanted, I mean-"

"Just be more careful, and don't associate yourself with her. That's about the worst thing you can do. You can get kicked out of here for doing such things." He warned.

Miku sighed.

"I know, Rei. I know it's important. I'm just curious, you know. I want to know more about her." Miku tried to explain. "I know there's penalties for snooping around..."

"Curiosity will get you wind blown in this household." Rei warned her. "However, I will offer to tell you anything you need to know about Rui, no matter how personal it is, but we can't talk about it in front of my parents. My father tells my mother everything we say, and he told her about what you had said. My mom is now enraged over this, and won't result to friendly matter if you keep talking about Rui."

"If you're taking questions, can I ask your opinion on her?" Miku asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could spot Rui having a peak of interest.

"Yes... you can. You see, Rui is my twin sister. Of course I care about her and want her around. But, I don't wish to end up like her, and my parents will kick me out, especially for the fact we both derive from the same bloodline. Besides that fact, my parents wanted to keep her out of special services, and getting help was out of the line because of her competitive violin practices. She was such a grand violin player, that she eventually burnt out from all the stress. Our parents felt like they had to give up her violin routine if she were enrolled in special services." He told her.

"Why were they so hung up on enrolling her in special classes for the violin?" Miku asked. "Where did they get their large sum of money?"

"Well, that was not so simple. A large sum of their money came from Rui's victories in the international region, from which she had won at least a million dollars at one point for being in 3rd place. Her parents had taken that money and placed into their banks, thus stealing it from her."

"What did Rui feel about playing the violin?"

Rei paused for a moment, his eyes going sad.

"I think the sad part about all this, was that Rui hated playing the violin once her parents forced the money out of her. They started to force her into more extreme competitions, and threatened to kick her out if she didn't do well. Rui was always forced into being a model student, ever since she could strum a string. One outburst, and she'd be out of the house. She started to isolate herself from other people, and started yelling at everyone who defied her. She knew she'd be done if she were nice, so she started to harass the other competitors and win by cheating. Overall, it wasn't pretty."

"What did you do about all this?" Miku asked.

"I did nothing. How could I? I would risk being kicked out myself. Rui's behaviors were getting more and more rapid, until one day she was kicked out of a state competition for hitting a young girl offstage. Our parents were so outraged, she broke into a frenzy and dialed 911, thus causing her to be shipped to a mental hospital. She spent months trying to fix 'what was wrong with her' so she could better fulfill herself for her parents. But even then, our parents refused to help her, and so they sent her to Red Valley, where you've probably met her, right?"

"I actually didn't know her that well..." Miku confessed. "But from what I could tell, she was easily a troubled girl."

Rei nodded his head.

"Well, dinner is starting in a few. Be there by six o' clock." Rei said. Miku nodded her head as he left the room.

Immediately she turned around and spotted Rui looking at her with a puzzled expression on her face. It was as if she were watching her every move and calculating whether she'd be a threat or not.

Suddenly Rui's expression changed to annoyance. She started to spell out the words "O.P.E.N." Miku couldn't help but wonder if this were a trap or not. None the less, she decided to open the window.

Immediately her thoughts scrambled. Seeing Rui in the flesh caused the voice in her head to reenact. This time, it delivered a high shrill, disturbing her body and causing her spine to tingle. And then something attacked her stomach. And she heard laughter, but it wasn't coming from Rui. She turned around trying to find the laughter, but it continued on and on, coursing through her brain.

Suddenly, she felt pain coarse through her body, and dropped to her knees. Rui scrambled to touch her shoulder and felt her forehead, but the touch was too victimizing. Rui asked her if she were alright, but Miku suddenly lashed out and clenched her throat with her hands. Rui in return smacked her with a book off the shelf and sprayed pepper spray into her eyes. Miku screamed and fell to the ground, starting to cry.

Rui silenced her.

"I find it truly fascinating how well your body has been trained to defend itself." Rui told her. "Pseudoaeternum, huh? Ah, it's such a shame! You can't get what you once had, once you've lost it. Just don't lose it all. You must come with me, because obviously; neither of us are in our right mind. I pity you. You are highly dangerous in the state that you are, but it's not too late to change yourself."

Miku stayed on the ground, tears coming out of her eyes. Rui's foot was in her mouth, silencing all words. She moved around, trying to stop the pain from inflicting her, but it was too strong. Anxiety pressed hard against her lungs, but she couldn't scream anymore, and she didn't want to. Her heart was too heavy for words as her eyes continued to burn with the intensity of a thousand suns.

"You must think I am going to take you back to an awful place of some sort. But surely, I will not. I'm not a sadistic little bitch like I used to be, and I know you've suffered more than you could pay for. Ah... it makes me so sad. To think that people of your type are turning into people like me. Surely, one day, we'll find what makes us special, won't we?" Rui removed her foot and touched the base of her forehead, and Miku's whole body became inflamed. Rui sighed, did a "tsk tsk" and then brought her to her knees.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm not like those people at Red Valley. Mew wouldn't have hurt you either, but seeing as you killed her off, well, it gives us all the more reason to stop them..."

"Mew attempted to kill me." Miku told her. "I was only defending myself."

"Yes, your exactly right. But that's what we assassins are trained to do when we let our kin get away. You my friend, have a hell of a lot of endurance. I commend you. But don't let yourself be killed." Rui insisted.

"You seem a lot calmer than your usual self... why is that?" Miku asked her.

"Well hell, I never thought you'd ask. You see, I had training and medication adjustments in our training school. It's hard, rigorous work, but once you get used to it, you go far. They cured all my drug addictions as well, so it's safe to say, I'm a new me and a new tomorrow." Rui told her. "You'll enjoy it. You get to learn to defend yourself against assholes. I mean, it's better than dying out there in the streets, or killing off all my family, right?"

Miku gave her a blank stare.

"Why would I kill off your family?" She asked.

"Pseudoaeternum." Rui replied. "It's safe to assume you'll die from that too, in an estimate of 29 days, not counting today, and be crazy by tomorrow." She paused, taking a good look at Miku. "I may be bipolar, but I know I can save you. Come sneak out with me into the car."

Miku hesitated.

"I can't go with you, knowing that I'll be thrown back into danger." Miku explained. "But... I also know it's selfish not to. I can't help Rin if I stay here any longer, and she needs me more than anyone right now."

Rui nodded her head.

"Do you know who freed you in the time of the attack? I know the Mandole Detectives wanted to know." Rui questioned.

"A girl... with green hair." Miku responded.

"Green hair? Was it Sonika? No... she was dead at the time of the attack. The only other green haired girl I know is Gumi... but Gumi would never do that because she was the one who drugged you with the pills in the first place." Miku's eyes widened.

"G-Gumi? But we're best friends!" Miku shouted.

"That makes no difference in the world of all that is Vocaloid." Rui told her. "Once we were enemies, and now we're not, see? And have you forgotten that Gumi is the daughter of an evil, evil man?"

Miku gulped at the thought.

"Mr. Hotaru is not evil..." Miku defended. "He's simply eccentric."

"Yet Gumiya is destroying the lives of students everyday, don't you see? He destroyed your life. You can never go to college, get a college degree, or even pass high school. Your family members are dead, because he simply killed them." Rui told her. "And you yourself are going to go insane in a matter of hours. Miku, I can't take no for an answer. You can't say no to me. I won't let you."

Suddenly, the door slammed open. Rui and Miku turned around to see Rui's mother gasp. Rui's expression immediately turned to hatred.

"Mother!" She cried out. But it wasn't an excited or happy cry. More like an accusation.

"Rui, dear god child, where did you come from? And Miku, tsk tsk, I'm so disappointed in you for letting her in. You're both so uncivilized." Rui's stingy mother dictated.

"Hah. Uncivilized. You rotten bitch. You were the one who ripped me of my talent for your own selfish greed. Dammit, I still get shivers from the times you used to yell at me over one small mistake. Do I have a right to be angry? Yes, yes I do... I would go as far as to say I hope you rot in a burning abyss when you die. I'm not happy with your antics of self control in this house, seeing as you completely stole everything I ever had." Rui yelled.

Rui's mother was in such shock, Miku could have sworn she had knelled over and died. But none the less, it only made her angrier.

"Get out! Get out, both of you. I'm shipping both of you back to Red Valley." Rui's mother decided. Rui paused for just a moment as if coldly calculating to get out, and in that time attempted to pepper spray her mother, but her mother yanked the device out of her hands. "You young lady, shouldn't be playing with dangerous weapons, it will only put you behind bars."

"Mother, if you ship us back, you will only be sending us to a cold, miserable place full of deceitful, ravenous curs." Rui tried to explain. "You will only be taking into consideration how much your selfish impulsive acts can only devise, and ruin us. You will be taking two psychopaths into your car, where they can turn the wheel on you and kill you off. Now, that's all fine and dandy, except for you." Rui's cold calculating eyes met upon her mothers, who gasped in return.

"Rui! How dare you say such undesirable things?" Her mother asked. "The only reason you were kicked out of the household is for your morbid behavior, and how could it possibly be that you and Miku have murderous intent? I didn't raise my child to call herself a psychopath, and Miku doesn't show such behavior."

"Perhaps you are right with psychopath being too strong of a word. I'd call it... forceful decay of innocence. Ever since I turned 13, I had learned that innocence is only a mask for a world of hatefulness and agony. You, the parent, had deliberately thrown off that mask by then and sentenced me to a thick realm of hatred. Now, I stand here clothed thickly in such matters."

Rui's mother shook her head.

"Get the hell out of here. You have no right in this household. Take your disgusting homeless friend with you. I don't want you back here ever again, and I will put you where you need to go." With that, she grabbed onto their hands without warning and threw them out of the room. Both of them fought back against the woman, but neither of them were strong enough to break her grasp.

Her mother called out to her father, who took Rui in one hand, and her mother taking the reluctant Miku in the other. Rei watched with shocked eyes as Rui and Miku were taken out the door. Rui only exchanged a glance at him before she was thrown into the back of the car, and had all her power stripped from her.

Without a doubt... it was only time before Miku would show her decaying mind.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_One thing should be noted about this chapter... Rui calls her and Miku a psychopath to scare her mother off, but it doesn't work. Another thing is, even if Rei seems cold to Rui, he really cares about her and wants her in his life, but he's not willing to give up his lifestyle and the comfort of his home to help her._

_Next chapter will probably freak a few people out, since it dwells more into Miku's insanity. It's another horror element of the story, so be warned. I tried not to overdo it, but it probably seems a little overdone and messed up (as in: crazy ) It should be noted that Miku or anyone in this story who's been so called "infected" with the Pseudoaeternum virus, show psychotic elements and signs of mental illness (even when they used to be normally healthy, like Miku), but this is not always so. Should also be noted that Pseudoaeternum is completely made up and NOT real, LOL It's a made up virus, and gets it's name coined from "Pseudo" meaning "fake" and Aeternum, which is latin for "Forever" The background story might be said in future chapters~  
_

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter~ _


	15. CH 14: Insanity

_Author's Note:_

_I feel very embarrassed posting this chapter. It's vital to this story, but I'm pretty sure I'll be losing a couple readers. It's probably the worst thing I've ever written. I really, truly hate this chapter. That's why I've taken so long for me to update this story. Because I really hate this chapter. Honestly. _

_I will warn you, this part of the story is just... yeah. Miku, thankfully, grows a sense of mind in the chapter afterwords, but for this chapter: She's very... um... crazy, because of the Pseudoaternum. Now I feel bad for writing Miku this way..._

_It's okay, you don't have to review. It's appreciated and all, but it's probably discomforting to even read a story about Miku going wacko. I'm pretty used to my stories turning mediocre, it's nothing new for me. Great beginning, but horrific chapter. Honestly, I will promise you my oneshot for the contest will be better. _

_I'm 3 chapters ahead of this one so far (I still have to read through the story again to make sure it makes sense). _

_Well, go ahead and read this chapter. Let me know how insane Miku gets, and if I did a good job with the scare factor, or I overdid it. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, I'll take it like a man! (Even if I'm a girl~ ) I enjoy improving myself, so criticism is appreciated. Flames are not, but criticism- reason behind the dislike, is fine. As long as you explain yourself, I'm good. _

_I hope you enjoy my nutty chapter. ^^;_

* * *

**Chapter 14: **Insanity

Every waking moment, Miku could hear a ticking sound. It resounded in her head, _over_ and _over_ and _over _again, _tick_ _tock, tick tock tick tock..._it drove her mad! She squirmed in the seat of the car, she whimpered silently in the back as Rui's parents decided what to do with her.

_**Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock... your time is ticking Miku... come back to us. We need you.**_

_**Kill them. Kill her. The traitors. **_

_**KILL THEM. KILL THEM. KILL TH-**_

"Miku." Rui harshly whispered. "Don't listen to it."

"Rui... I'm so scared." She whispered back. Rui shushed her, reaching over to hold her hand.

"There there little kitten... my parents can't hold us captive forever." Rui explained. "They're sissies."

Miku could hear far beyond what she could acknowledge. High shrills, voices pleading for mercy. Objects of her imagination... she didn't know how much more of it she could take. Something was attacking her stomach, ripping it open, crawling inside of her. Something was eating her alive... slowly... but surely.

_H...help me... oh god... _

_**KILL HER. KILL RUI. KILL THEM. Satisfy the growing urges within you... you know you want to. **_

They were whispering to each other in the front; Rui's parents... Miku's hazy eyes could clearly see Mr. Kaai sighing with grief while Miku squirmed in her spot. Mr. Kaai looked up at the window seal. He saw nothing but fear in her eyes.

"Miku, I'm really sorry you got in this mess. You see, Rui caused a lot of damage on our household. She's put numerous holes in our home we've had to repair. She's attempted to burn down the house multiple times. You seem like a nice girl, but I'm afraid we'll have to kick you out. I'm sure-"

"Shut up!" Rui's mother suddenly screamed. Rapidly she swung through a red light and swerved through a corner, causing a heart attack for most of the passengers in the car. Her driving calmed again. The sign "Cryptonaria" was up ahead. Miku squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, mildly shaking from the stress. Many times she considered jumping out the window as they drove through corners.

Rui seemed unphased as Miku fought back temptations to strangle Rui on sight. Rui herself was more nervous than Miku took her for. It was as if she had a nail filer in possession, and she was hacking away at her nails like no tomorrow until her skin bled and turned shades of white. Miku would strangle her long before she would file her nails, as it was her fault for getting into this mess.

Rui had a cocky grin on her face, and she showed it with perseverance. Somehow, even if she had meant well... Miku hated that grin. It made her-

_**Rui must die. **_

_Yes... _

_**Kill her.**_

_Yes..._

**_KILL HER._**

_YES!_

_**KILL. HER. Kill her now! Kill her... you know you want to.**_

_Ahh god... n-n- yes. YES! Hahaha, yes! Kill her. Kill her... Kill her... KILL HER. KILL HER. KILL HER KILL HER KILL HER-_

"How exactly did you get to our house, Rui?" Rui's mother asked. More like demanded.

"I drove." Rui blankly replied.

"How dare you drive without a license!" She snapped. Rui herself stayed silent, smiling neurotically. Miku hated the smile. She wanted to erase her every being.

"N..no..." Miku whispered.

"What's wrong Miku?" Rui asked her. "Don't tell me it's the voices in your head."

Miku held her head in silence. Hastily, she started to pant uncontrollably. Her vision was beginning to become blurred, but she still saw Rui eying at her with concern.

"No.. NO!" Miku hissed. "Get away from me, don't touch me... please god don't touch me..."

The virus within her pounded against her skin now, seeping within her skull. It was so painful that Miku relapsed and grabbed a hold of her throat, whimpering psychotically. Her whole body lit up with flames. She started to scream.

Rui's parents jerked the car over to the side.

Miku darted for the hills. Rui followed her, racing towards the woods they were descending upon. Rui's parents chased after them, but could not find them. Miku tried to lose Rui by cutting her off by the corner, but Rui stubbornly stayed with her, grabbing her hand and violently jerked her into the nearest bush.

Miku watched as her mother came up in front of her, and Rui swiped the car keys from her, grabbing the sixteen year old and running straight for the car. Rui's parents were behind them, desperately trying to play catch up.

The voices in her head demanded to kill Rui, but with all her strong will, put it aside for now. Rui violently jerked Miku the other direction for a second before twisting her arm towards the vehicle in plain sight. Miku hated the vehicle, but Rui wouldn't have it as she hastily opened the door and shoved her in, locking the other side.

Rui's parents were close in range as she started the accelerator. Her parents were so close, they could almost touch the car. She locked all the doors of the vehicle as the car was brought to life and she slammed her foot on the gas pedal. Her parents were completely thrown out of view.

But it wasn't the end. Miku, still felt the bitter pounding in her head. She heard crazed laughter inside her head, more vividly and fluidly then ever. Her heart pounded with the equivalence of a time bomb. Her eyes couldn't stop glancing at Rui as she rammed the car through street after street. Rui's parents were long gone by then.

Everything was ludicrous. Everything was so... so... strangely humorous in the time that Miku burst out laughing. Rui took a look at her from the mirror, as she burst into a sound laughter. Her laughter turned to a twisted, sick phenomenon by chance, as she gazed into Rui's curious eyes.

Suddenly, out of nowhere- they heard sirens. Miku's laugh was ongoing. Miku tried to hold back the urge to strangle Rui in her spot, but she couldn't help it. Her eyes wandered off upon a leather belt, which she cautiously yanked from it's spot and wrapped around Rui's throat while she was driving.

Rui attempted to reach deep into her pocket, but Miku grasped the object and threw it to the side. Rui struggled to keep breathing as she turned blue. Miku smirked, but part of her didn't want this. It didn't matter now.

The car swerved out of control on the highway. The police were in view now from the back, a detectives car of some sort. Miku's laughter soared to a new chill, and Rui found no strength to fight back. Her hands fell limp as her grasp on the steering wheel was no more. Miku grinned, her smile becoming bigger. Rui was barely conscious now, barely breathing!

Out of nowhere, the car hit a tree, and Miku snapped out of the phase she was in. Seeing Rui's cold body caused her to panic as she started to run far from the vehicle.

Wherever she ran, she was followed by the police car. She raced passed a pair of buildings, and the vehicle had entrapped her in a loop of buildings and cars. Finally she broke down and cried.

She cried until she couldn't speak. She knew it was over. The police had captured her. She was going to rot in a cell... she was going mad, and it wasn't even her fault! She never wanted this...

And yet... was this all she could ever have? Live the life of someone who lives a life of darkness and murder? Live the life of a psychopath? Everything had been taken away from her in a matter of months...

She could hear someone getting out of the car. She whimpered.

"Miku, Miku, Miku... you truly are turning into such a willing assassin, aren't you? Father Gumiya will be pleased..."

That voice was so familiar... so ominous...

No... it couldn't be... could it?

"Rin?"

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_DUNDUNDUN. That twist, I love... this chapter, no. Rin, what happened to you? Aaaaaugh. _

_This story is definitely turning into my guilty pleasure... not that Yuri is a guilty pleasure. Well, it is in a way, because I'm currently dating a boy and I'm positive he wouldn't want to see this story. XD (I know, and I thought I'd get a girlfriend for sure! ) I will still write this and girl's love in general, because that's the way I role~. _

_Next week, or this weekend I'm going to hang out with my date~ wish me luck! He's a very sweet guy, extremely shy and sensitive. (Like me! ) He's very kind and gentleman like. 83 (He held the door open for me! I loved that~) He loves computers just like me. He's wonderful to be around and makes me very happy. 3 He brought me out of my misery with my whole "falling in love with a girl who doesn't like me back" thing. Haha! Good things really do come to those who wait._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter? I'm sorry for it's quality, I really am... I wish I had done this chapter more tastefully. Maybe next time~_


	16. CH 15: Changed

_Author's Note: This chapter is slightly better. _

_I'm onto Rui's part now (I think... ) I powerhoused through a chapter because of my new found interest in this story so I'll be posting chapter 15 up here. It's getting pretty dang interesting, if I don't say so myself. I added a few Sci-fi elements you'll find soon, and hopefully those won't get in the way of the story. _

_I hope this chapter is to your suiting, more so than the last chapter. _

_Enjoy~_

* * *

**Chapter 15: **Changed

Rin pursed her lips together, gradually building up into a grin. She licked her lips in a greedy manner, eying Miku with a certain flare in her eyes. She was thickly coated with in black shawl with a black vest underneath, and brown cargo pants and military style boots. At her waist was a gadget belt, but Miku couldn't spot the weapons amongst them. Miku could tell she was hiding them with her long shawl.

Miku, was oh so speechless. Her best friend was before her, draped in a fiends clothing. She dressed like a gang member of the highest ranking; a greedy assassin. Miku couldn't help but catch a whiff of carrots from her scent. The scent intoxicated her lungs, but none the less set her heart on fire. Before she knew it, her eyes gravitated towards Rin's pale skin and misleading "innocent" blue eyes. And she couldn't help but think... what have they done to her?

Rin was now smirking, her smile so convincing. Immediately she grabbed Miku with one hand and started tracing her finger up and down her arm. She was getting shivers, oh how she was getting shivers... Miku didn't remember Rin ever wanting to be in a relationship with her. It felt so... forced.

"Why?" Miku asked her. She wanted to know.

Rin's response was a kiss. With greedy pleasure, Miku kissed her back, feeling the same shivers from before; as if all of her body was being dipped into the cold blue sea and becoming crystallized. Rin pulled away for just a second before stabbing her in the arm and injecting her with some sort of liquid.

"Ah...ah... W-why Rin? Why... what are you doing to me? Screwing around with my emotions... injecting me with more viruses... why-"

"Oh. So you know about Pseudoaeternum, huh? This is the cure for it, in case you were wondering. Poor innocent Miku... you're just too much fun to tease. Oh, you're turning flustered. So cute..."

Rin suddenly grabbed onto her clothes and thrust her into another kiss. Miku moaned, trying to pull away. For some reason, she didn't want it to be like this between the two of them. Not so... forced. Not so... fake. But Rin insisted of pressing her lips upon hers, and kissed her until Miku turned blue. She let go.

"You're not having fun like I thought you would. I was just getting started." Rin complained.

"I thought you were straight, Rin. Why must you steal kisses from me, not once... but twice?" Miku asked her.

Rin traced her finger alongside her neck and positioned her to look at her. She looked straight into her eyes.

"Can't a girl have her fun? You're such a goody-two-shoes, Miku. Faithful to one person. Me. However, I will reveal I am not so faithful, as I am currently double crossing Gumi Hotaru. Can you imagine? She'll kill me when she finds out." She laughed.

"Rin... this is just so sad. I'm so sad... to see what has been done to you. I love you... but I can't love you like this..." Miku whispered.

Rin snickered.

"You're too cute. Gumi would hate you, seeing as you're her love rival. I really like you, Miku. But Gumi won't let me have you. I'll have to steal you away... somehow."

"Why did you ever come here to me, Rin?" Miku asked.

"Ah, you goody-goody. You never did realize that your escape from Red Valley Asylum was done on purpose, right? Poor innocent girly... you did know that Gumi let you go so you could kill the agents of the White Fox, right? She left the drug within you to drive yourself to madness. Oh, but the insanity is a permanent effect however. Don't worry... you'll like being crazy. Being insane is so very fun..."

Suddenly someone held a knife to Rin's throat. With one hand, they clasped her neck, the other... tried to penetrate her skin. Rin shoved the person away and attempted to punch them and Miku realized without an effort that it was Rui.

Rui took a swing at Rin with her knife, but Miku could tell something was holding her back. Rin however, was not so nice as she shoved her against the detective car and then to the ground. Rui fought back, scrambling to collect her gun, but then hesitated when she found nothing but her hand.

Miku quickly realized the object she had taken from Rui's pocket was none other than a pistol. Rui stared with horror at the same gun as it was flung across the ground far away from any reaching hands. It was odd the way Rin had simply slid it across the floor. In fact, she had thrown it near her. What exactly was she planning?

She could do nothing but watch as Rui scrambled to get off of her feet, and Rin shoved her back down with her foot.

She grinned.

"How could you be alive still, Rui?" Rin asked.

"Miku doesn't have the heart to kill people. And neither do you." Rui replied.

Rin grabbed her shirt and tugged her towards her.

"Oh? How so? I can start by shoving this damned blade down your bloody throat!" Rin screeched, attempting to grab the object away from her hands. Rui in returned punched her in return to get away from her grasp, but Rin was too powerful to stop her.

Then Rui manage a successful swing at her face with her knife, nicking her face pretty good; but it only made her far angrier.

"You- you bitch!" Rin cried out. Rin furiously rushed to pull her body weight towards her. She sat on top of Rui, pulling the hidden gun out of her gadget belt and aiming it towards her head. She had her hand on the trigger and was going to pull it-

"WAIT!" Miku yelled. Miku shoved the girl off of Rui and threw her to the ground. She screamed; "She's your cousin. Why should you shoot her? She loves you just as much as any relative would."

Rin smirked. She put the gun to the older girl's head. Miku stopped dead cold as she wrapped her arm around her neck and held her in place.

"Rui... let me have her or let her die. I will let you go. But only if you let me have her." Rin threatened.

Rui gritted her teeth, glaring at Rin.

"You... you can have her." Rui said in defeat. "But you will be rescued one day, Miku. Both of you in fact."

"Get out of my face, you scumbag." Rin growled, grabbing Miku and tossing her into her car. Rui reluctantly headed for the hills. Rin soon got into the police car and sat in the driver's seat.

The car sprang to life.

"Why are you driving a police car?" Miku asked.

"Least suspicious." Rin yawned. "I stole it from the Mandole police. They can care less though. They'd only be angry because of the money."

Neru and Haku filled her mind at the moment, and she wondered if this was their vehicle. She shook the thought away. She almost wondered if they knew she had committed murder, or had stayed at Rui's house, found Rui... and encountered a very changed Rin...

Rin somehow made her feel broken inside. Like something was missing. Her romance felt so fake, even if she did had feelings for her...

"Rin... why are you suddenly so cold, menacing and heartless? You used to be so nice... so sweet... so kind... what did Gumi do to you?" Miku was practically at tears at this fact.

To her sorrow, Rin laughed cruelly.

"Ah, your so funny, Miku. Hope Gumi likes your humor." Rin grinned cockily. "She won't like you blaming her for all your problems, she's got some more of her own... but I'll cover for you. I'm your caretaker after all, I can get you nice and suited... and we can share some kisses while we're at it."

"I never wanted it to be like this between the two of us..." Miku told her. "So forced... so empty... so unloved..."

"Don't talk like that. I do love you, you realize that right? I'm playing a diligent lesbian. Maybe not the most loyal... oh.. but the most charming. It _is_ what you wanted after all..."

That did it for Miku.

She broke down sobbing, holding her hands over her face as if Rin were never there. Tears dripped right through her, pouring with as much weight as a water fountain from Conchita bay. A voice she recognized as Rin's inside her head, comforted her and told her it was okay. It just made things worse.

The voice giggled, telling her she was being silly and to man up. It was kind, cheerful, and it calmly told her; _"Hey, it'll be alright. This won't be forever, Miku." _Indeed, the old Rin was talking to her, manifesting inside of her head. And it drove her insane.

But the real Rin just let her cry.

"_It'll be okay Miku... don't worry about it." _The Rin in her head told her.

"I don't understand why I've taken such a keen interest in you, Miku. You're such a crybaby." The Real Rin told her.

"_Don't listen to me. You'll always be my favorite."_

"Are you listening to me? Or are you just going to stare off into space again?"

Miku stayed silent.

[…]

Miku couldn't help but question how Rin became this way. So... heartless, evil and cruel. Like an assassin. Like a murderer. Miku only knew that Rin had become this way through Gumi, but how had Gumi become this way? Pseudoaeternum? Neither of them had ever been so brutal...

it seemed so odd... so strange. Who could have done this to them? Slowly, she was beginning to realize... that Rin and Gumi weren't who they appeared to be. Was there any love deep inside? Even the slightest bit of remorse? Even the slightest bit of heart, feelings, instead of a blank slate of emptiness? Or were they gone forever? It drove her insane... just thinking about it... but she was already insane, so that didn't count. Or did it?

Rin was a monster. She wasn't the same girl she had been. Miku had never felt more ashamed of her... being her friend, being someone she could trust. But somehow, it wasn't her fault. Rin was possibly crazy, but only because of Gumi... the way she talked about Gumi, had a tinge of hatred behind it. It wasn't fair.

Above all, her parents were out of existence, she had murdered Mew, befriended Rui, tried to kill her... went insane... realized she was insane... and couldn't help herself anyway. And now, she's sitting here... hearing Rin's voice in her head like some sort of crazed, bizarre weirdo, and feeling a big lump in her throat that just won't come out. It was all too much to comprehend... but somehow, all the crying had been taken out of her when she broke down in front of Rin.

"I made Miku break down in tears today, Gumi! You should have seen her, she cried on for hours! Called me inhuman... ha!" Rin exclaimed. Miku heard the footsteps of two inhuman psychopaths slowly coming towards her.

"Oh? Rin, don't you know it's bad to make others _cry_?" The voice of Gumi mocked. "I see you got yourself a nice bloody cheek there. Must have ran into the White Fox, those moronic assassins of the lowest standards. You obviously need more training."

"Ah, yes. I ran into Rui Kagene. She's no average throttler; one of the finer ones perhaps. " The steps ceased.

The sixteen year old opened her hazy eyes to find Rin standing over her with a grizzly grin plastered on her face and Gumi standing by her with the same cruel grin on her face. They seemed so...inhuman. Too inhuman. Just like one of those TV shows about murderers...

"Ah. You're awake. You must have so many questions, so many at all. Fortunately, we will answer all your curiosities with even more questions. Tehe. Oh- and don't forget this: Rin is my girl. You so much as lay a finger on her, and you'll be sending yourself straight back to that bloody Asylum. I'll inject you with Pseudoaeternum II, like I did Pseudoaeternum I. This time... ah... you probably won't live..."

Miku stayed silent.

"Needless to say, welcome to the Red Hand. We serve Master Gumiya, and only Master Gumiya." Gumi told her. "Oh yes... and I am the heir. My father's descendant, Master Uva, served the whole country of Vocaloid. I will take his place when he dies." Gumi told her.

Rin seemed just as quiet as Miku for the next few minutes. She finally spoke.

"Ah, and I would obey her if I were you. Gumi's subjected me to poison, knife wounds and torment oh so very much... not to scare you or anything. Hehehehehehe. She once had to peel off all my toenails just to get me to submit. But that's why I love Gumi. She never gives up and always aims for her goals."

Somehow, Miku doubted that. It seemed disturbing that her best friend and crush would speak so highly of someone who's inflicted nothing but pain on her. She sighed. Gumi and Rin both had lost it. And somehow, Miku had a feeling Rin was only speaking highly of Gumi because she was forced to. Rin's voice _did _have a tiny bit of shakiness to it, as if she were going to get a knife to the throat if she didn't cooperate.

"Miku's being so very quiet right now. Well, Rin... show Miku to her room. Don't try anything funny now, will you?" Gumi asked her. Rin nodded her head, inching Miku forward with her hand. She stopped at a door with a small window on it, and used a key to open it up.

The bedroom was without a doubt, the worst room she's ever seen. Everything felt like it had come out of some insane Asylum, a white bed, a white dresser, a hard white floor; white walls. It didn't feel homey at all, then again: nothing felt like home anymore. She didn't even had a home to go to, her parents were dead. And she had no siblings, young or old...

She almost wondered if Rin had any parents, or if they had been killed off just the same?

"You'll be staying here for now. A fresh bed and all." Rin told her. "If you need me, I'll be staying the next few wings in the master bed. If you want... you can sneak over there anytime between three am, and five am, Gumi will be non suspecting. But I'll probably do the sneaking."

"Rin... what ever happened to your parents?" Miku asked her.

"Oh. I killed them." Rin told her. "Len wasn't too happy with me, needless to say."

"Len... is he in on this too?" Miku asked her. Rin raised an eyebrow. "This whole... idea?"

Rin scoffed.

"Len, Yukari, and Aria are in their own little world. They aren't afflicted with the White Fox OR The Red Hand. But... doesn't mean we won't convert them. Yukari herself, is a fitting assassin, but is only an average cut-throat. Aria is just the tag along who has no clue what she's doing. And my brother... he's my personal servant. He has no clue I share ties with the Red Hand, nor is willing to shed blood, but he actually has helped me with my services without knowing it." Rin licked her lips. "He's quite... useful."

"What about Piko? Your rival?" Miku asked.

"He's Gumi's other personal assistant, except Gumi has no interest in keeping him by her side all the time. She lets him do as he likes. He tends to love to lure our classmates deep into the Dusty Devil and slit their throats. Only the annoying ones. I was a personal recruit into this league of assassins, so he spared me. Can't say he'd do the same for Yukari... but she's a smart girl."

Miku could feel all the iciness draw up her spine at her final question.

"You say you love me... when did that start occurring?" Miku asked her.

Rin's reaction was nothing like she expected.

It started out as a laugh, a perfectly insane, evil, and demented kind of laugh. Blood curdling. Spine chilling. Cold. Then Rin's face twisted up with feelings that she had meant to hide. Anxiety. Pain. Dread.

It was written over her entire face that this was a topic she felt insecure about. Miku noticed that quickly. But just as quick as it had been, it disappeared. And the smiling lunatic returned.

"You're quite cute Miku. But I think I've answered enough questions for today. You're tiring me and draining me of fresh squeezed energy. That damned Rui must have got to your head. It's getting oh so very late... and Mistress Gumi is calling for me. But don't worry... I'll share a few kisses with you later on." Rin gave her a wink and left the room, leaving Miku to contemplate on her actions.

What kind of secrets loomed around this school? Assassin students... poisonous drugs... evil teachers... corrupt fathers... friends now foes, foes now friends... forced relationships... secret asylums and... something else. Miku couldn't place on her finger what it was.

Ah, yes...

Ambiguous girlfriends.


	17. CH 16: Knife and Naughty

_Author's Note:_

_I'm sorry for the long wait. I had to do a little planning for the new part before I started to write the chapter. Anyway, this chapter is ready._

_As you can imagine, I've also been hanging out with my boyfriend. (I still find it ironic I'd get one... considering all the slash I write... haha. ) But I won't be forgetting about my OTP / Girls Love no no, never! If I could do the heart symbol right now, there'd be plenty of hearts. :)  
_

_Also, when I'm done with this story (We're about 2.7 out of 4 ways through), I have a manga for Villain x Hero in mind. (I've already attempted one but it was super short and I never finished it OTL ) I re-read through it (the story itself) and thought it was charming. (And perverted. XD ) It'd make the perfect doujin. (Non hentai of course~ ) Now, hopefully my art skills are better than before. D: (As well as my scripting and writing skills. I'll have to read what I know about scripting. )_

_Reviews are well appreciated. I know I'm not the best writer, so if you have some pointers for the plot, characters, or anything else, it'll be well appreciated~ /repeats self OTL Reviews keep me going, because no reviews makes me feel like I'm doing a horrible job... OTL (My self esteem issues... tsk tsk tsk... )  
_

_Anyways, enjoy~_

* * *

**Chapter 16: **Knife and Naughty

For some reason, Miku could never get used to the new Rin. How she had gone from being someone who despised her, to someone who constantly ogles her as she throws knives at a dummy, cheats on her with another girl, and above all: acts just like her cousin used to. It really surprised her. Miku never wanted her to force herself into liking Gumi, or her for that matter... and she couldn't help but feel Rin was doing just that.

It was seen that Miku had real feelings for Rin. Real feelings that were finally acknowledged- though not in the way she'd expected it to. She never imagined her relationship would turn so destructive. First Rin hates her, now Rin loves the living tar out of her. But the way she handled it made her feel uncomfortable... she didn't know what changed Rin. Maybe Rin always had these feelings... but she always hid them so cautiously... her brain must have been addled just like hers, and she didn't know right from wrong...

"Miku, here's a knife. Just let yourself go. It's what I do. Go insane, seriously. Just don't hurt anyone here. If you hit too low, ah... you get strangled by me for a good five minutes. If you hit too high, well... I'll beat the living tar out of you. But..." She leaned close to her to whisper in her ear; "If you hit it right, I'll let you go to a movie with me."

Miku became stiff after hearing Rin's words. She weakly aimed the knife towards the dummy's heart, her hands shaking. Just as she was about ready to throw, Rin grabbed her hands and helped her position herself. Her closeness made her sweaty, and the sweat made her feel warm... she mentally cursed herself for liking her and remembered not to touch her. Rin was making it so hard to concentrate...

Rin let go, and commanded her to throw. Miku threw as hard as she could, watching with anguish as the aim was too low. It hit the dummy straight in the lower abdominal instead of the chest. She swallowed nervously, and kept her stare on the ground, not daring to look at Rin as she started to laugh.

It wasn't the Rin laugh she knew.

Rin shoved her against the wall. Miku thought for a second she was going to kiss her, when she realized that Gumi was standing right behind her. She stayed frozen solid as she took a few smacks at her face until blood squirted out of her nose and she fell to the ground with tears in her eyes.

She looked up at Rin, wondering if there was any humanity left within her, only to see the slight tears coming out of her eyes, as if she were forced into this.

She could have sworn- no wait- what was she mumbling? I...I...I'm...I'm...I'm so... _"I'm sorry."_

The Rin in her head clarified this.

"_I'm sorry Miku."_

The real Rin cheered up quickly.

"Well then, another round? We can break a few legs, a few arms, and a neck or two... I'm in the mood for either body part. Do it right this time, okay?"

Miku stayed put on the ground, trying to stop the blood from flowing out of her nose. Water sprinkled from her eyes as Rin handed her a tissue. She was starting to feel light headed, and not to mention terrified. Somehow, Rin just got all the more scary...

None the less, she didn't fight back... she eventually got up. Rin's expression turned curious, as if catching site of something interesting. Without warning, she pulled Miku's shirt down, revealing a long scar alongside her upper chest area.

"Oh? Who did this to you?" Rin asked her.

Miku had never felt so violated in her life. Rin was never so touchy touchy. She watched with horror as Rin traced her finger across her chest, and she brought her fingers up to her chin and violently jerked her forward, right in front of Gumi.

"Listen here, primadonna. Whoever did this to you, is going to pay." Rin whispered. Miku was so utterly afraid of Rin, she started to shake.

"I... I killed her." Miku whispered. "I didn't want to Rin... I swear it..."

"It was Mew, wasn't it? Damn White Fox..." Rin hissed. "_I'm_ the only one who can hurt you. Or Gumi can too. Either way, I'm _glad _she's dead."

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Rin let go of Miku in a hurry as Gumi walked up to her.

"Pondering over scars again, Rin? Surely this is none of your concern." Gumi told her. "I understand you were injured, Miku. Show me the scar."

Miku begrudgingly showed her the scar. Gumi's face lit up in satisfaction.

"Ah, a blade strike. She held a gun in her hand, but not one gun wound. I'm impressed that you could get away with even that. You're not worthless after all." With a cruel smirk, she lightly placed her fingers on her wound. Miku pulled away. "Still fresh. Ah, Miku... I still despise you... but we get along so fine. I'm not angry at you anymore for stealing Rin's heart. I'm simply... curious. What do you have that I don't?"

Rin stayed silent, eying the two of them. She seemed dazed.

"Rinny-kins, don't you love me?" Gumi asked her.

"Yes Master." Rin droned. She begrudgingly put on a smile and leaned down to kiss her hand. "Who couldn't love the fair maiden, the future dictator of all that is Vocaloid?"

Suddenly Gumi slapped her hand across her face. Rin cried out in pain, then touched her cheek. Gumi smirked.

"Too formal." Gumi complained. Miku wanted to smack her across the face and show her what she's done to poor Rin... poor innocent, freshman Rin... She didn't show it, but she was hurting inside... Miku was sure of it. Maybe even Gumi was hurting... but it was hard to see that when Gumi was obviously acting like a-

"Get back to work. And this time,_ don't touch her._" Gumi commanded. Rin sniffled, then turned to Miku. Miku began to notice her entire left side was a throbbing red. Rin herself looked like a deer in headlights; fully unaware of her surroundings. Perhaps she was still programing the slap into her head.

Gumi stood by the doorway on the other side of the training room with her hands folded. Miku tried to avoid her, but a piercing rage was brewing up inside of her. She could possibly cook that green haired girl to death if she wanted to... just throw her head into the stove and watch her face burn... but she merely shook her head. She didn't want to turn into another Gumi.

Somehow, she almost wondered if the reason Gumi was so controlling was because of her awful parents? Future dictator of all that is Vocaloid? What was she even talking about? Master Leon was the current one... she'd have to ask Rin about it later.

Rin brought her back to her senses.

"Well then..." Rin rubbed her face with an irritated expression on her face. She seemed speechless. "Go for another round. Don't mess up this time, and I'll reward you."

Miku could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her. Not enough to hear the evil voice inside of her, but just enough to hear laughter inside her head. The voice of Rin tried to calm her down while the real one watched her eyes turn squinty, and her face turn red.

She threw the knife.

She watched as it flew across the room, above the target practice and into the door, straight where Gumi's sleeve had been. Miku watched with horror as Gumi's eyes popped open, and her sleeve was stuck high end in the air, as if she had been taking a stretch. She angrily took the throwing knife and pointed it straight at her. Miku's heart jumped in retrospect, wondering if she should run...

And then...she laughed.

"Oh, cocky aren't you Miku?" Gumi snickered. Every bone in Miku's body was frozen... she didn't dare move an inch. "You did such a nice job, but apparently your target is _NOT_ me."

Miku swallowed in fear.

"Well, I am charmed by your skill. Perhaps karate classes have really helped your aim? But don't you realize it's self defense and not offense? You really shouldn't let yourself get so... angry..." Miku was shaking so hard, she could have sworn Gumi was going to do something terrible to her... Oh god, she was actually coming closer!

Miku didn't dare move, but it was clear that Gumi was going to punish her. _Severely._

She closed her eyes, waiting for the blow. She was so stiff, so very frozen... but somehow...

It never came.

"Here you are, quivering in fear, just like the rest of them. Even Rin does that sometimes. If you had done that to Rui Kagene, or Teto Kasane, I'd be proud of you. But no... you did it to me. And so, I must punish you accordingly..." Miku's eyes widened with fear. The electricity that had once poured through her veins stopped, and her heart skipped beats. She was utterly terrified. So so... terrified.

"You're only so skinny right now, aren't you Miku?" Gumi asked her. "How much do you weigh now?"

"I- um... 89 pounds..." Miku responded. Just what was she planning?

"You don't get dinner for a week." Gumi replied.

Miku could feel all the spine chills catch up to her. No dinner for a week? She... she must have been the one who starved her in the hospital- she must have been the one who tried to kill her... who drove her insane... who put Pseudoaeternum into her system... who kidnapped Rin... who forces Rin to do her bidding... Who- who...

Miku could feel her head begin to beat fast. All the anxieties that had once been free of her body, returned in an instance. She could recall the moments clearly now... oh so clearly... being caged, being drugged... being harassed, harmed, hurt- Gumi had snuck into her bedroom... told her she'd give her sleeping pills... but Miku didn't take too many, no... but they...

They weren't sleeping pills.

They were anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, and some sort of strange pill that caused her to become very... very... sleepy. When she woke up, she was in the hospital... but it wasn't a regular hospital.

It was a pseudo hospital.

And Gumi was there... the whole time... the whole time... by the doctors side... muttering things about "Red Valley Asylum adminstration" and "Don't let anyone see her." And and- then... she- she said; _"Let Rin come in. Let Rin see her state. Let it convince her to go inside the Red Hand head quarters. I'll get Piko to try to convince her and Yukari to come in..."_

It was... all a trap. One big trap. One big trap that her and Rin had happened to fall into. The escape, the hospital visit, the Pseudoaeternum... the training... the love triangle... everything. It was all a trap... a trap. Nothing but the end...

Somehow, Miku couldn't help but feel Gumi was only using her for entertainment. Only using Rin for sexual pleasure... only using each and every one of them to climb up in power... she seemed so evil... but even that was fabricated by some element... _Oh... oh my god... Rin... Gumi... what happened to you? What happened to me? What happened to us? We're monsters..._

Gumi was still standing there. Even at her realization. And she... she didn't care.

She didn't care.

She didn't care.

She didn't care!

She didn't care about her. Or Rin. Or anyone for that fact. She was simply broken inside. Heartless.

She should just-

She should just die!

"_Wait Miku, what are you getting at? You can't kill her."_ Rin's voice sounded in her head. Miku almost wondered if she were having telepathic thoughts with Rin's true self, but when she looked over at Rin, she was still staring off into space. _"You shouldn't kill her. After all, you'd make me very sad. Gumi's very confused... and you are too."_

_Am I schizophrenic or what?_

This time Rin actually looked at her. Right on cue. But it wasn't a hateful glare, nor was it a sexual stare... she was actually pretty... Rin like. Just ordinary. The Rin that made her heart thump.

Her heart skipped beats at that look. It's was as if Rin knew what was going inside of her head... as if Rin was actually reading her mind and the words that wanted to come out from it. Rin's gaze was held strongly, more profound... and Miku saw a certain spark in her eyes. That spark she'd been dying for... for so long... she'd craved this sort of attention since, well... they first met. But she didn't start to crave her love until this year.

"_You're not. You see, I-"_

"Oh? You've been awfully quiet Miku." Gumi told her. "Guess I took you by surprise. Really I could do _much _worse."

"Gumi... I'm sorry." Miku told her. "Sorry for what I did..."

"You've always been just like a time bomb... always going off at the wrong times." Gumi smiled. Like Rin, it wasn't her usual soft smile but a crooked decaying grin of madness. "Unfortunately, we must get going. We have important business to attend to. Don't bother trying to eat, my chefs will refuse to serve you. It could be much worse then a simple skipping of dinner, but I'm letting you off easy since this is your first day. Just get some sleep. Your assignment is due in the morning.

_**Don't be late.**_"

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_This chapter is ah... a little bit out of it's head. Sorry if my obsession with girls love gets in the way of the storyline (one of the next chapters shows this obsession with big white teeth. Yeah teeth. Teeth teeth teeth. Excuse the crappy comparison? I had to throw that chapter in there for the fan service. (For myself in other words. XD )  
_

_I'm considering writing a part for Gumi's POV for part 4 or as a bonus chapter. (Though I'm starting to think it might go like this: Prologue - 1: Rin - 2: Miku - 3: Rui - 4: Rin/Miku/Rui or just two of the characters (won't say who ;) ) - Ending (From someone's point of view. )  
_

_Anyway, my comments for this chapter include the fact that Gumi is entirely a cabbage. Yes, a cabbage. (lol I feel so random today... it's my immaturity coming alive!) She doesn't taste very good in terms of what she's become. But can this bittersweet tasting cabbage turn from a rotten cabbage to a delicious velvet cake, or is it too late? (I must be hungry... ) Only time will prevail._

_I'm sorry, I had to... xDDD *gets shot and killed on site*_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't mind my silliness... it's been forever since I've been in a good mood like this ;)  
_

_Till next time~_


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